British pharmaceutical giant GSK has received the green light from the European Commission to sell its Arexvy vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis, which kills thousands of people each year.
The authorization is given for the elderly, specifies GSK in its press release on Wednesday. The EU is following in the footsteps of the United States, which approved the marketing of this vaccine last month.
Vaccinations planned before the fall
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave a favorable opinion last month but the final decision of the European Commission was still awaited. “This is the first time that a vaccine against RSV has received authorization for sale in Europe,” notes GSK, and vaccinations will be scheduled before the fall. The virus generates “more than 270,000 hospitalizations and around 20,000 deaths during hospitalizations” among the elderly in Europe each year, specifies GSK.
RSV is a very common and highly contagious virus, best known for causing bronchiolitis (infection of the small bronchi) in toddlers during the winter. But it also affects adults and can be dangerous for the elderly when it degenerates into a respiratory infection (bronchiolitis or pneumonia).