Bronchiolitis: a quarter of children’s hospitalizations could be avoided thanks to Beyfortus this season

The figure was eagerly awaited. According to an estimate from the French Public Health Authority and the Pasteur Institute published this Friday, April 26, 5,800 infant emergency room admissions for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis could be avoided this fall/winter thanks to Beyfortus. This preventive treatment, produced by the Sanofi-AstraZeneca alliance, was first offered to all children this year last fall (subject to the number of doses available).

Several studies have already shown that this Beyfortus helped protect infants by about 80% from serious forms of RSV infection (the virus that causes the vast majority of severe bronchiolitis).

In a new publication published this Friday, April 26, the French Public Health Service has also achieved an efficiency of the same order regarding admission to intensive care units. But what is new is another publication, carried out in collaboration with the Pasteur Institute and which is soon to be published in a scientific journal.

40 vaccinated children managed to avoid one hospitalization

The researchers relied on several data points: the number of hospitalizations for bronchiolitis, the circulation of RSV in infants, the doses administered, etc. The peak of hospitalizations for RSV bronchiolitis this season was similar: among children aged three months to two years who received very little treatment this season compared to the previous one. On the other hand, among children under two years of age, many of whom had been vaccinated, it was half as low year after year. A sign that Bayfortus seems to be very effective.

After modeling all this data, the scientists estimated that between September 15 and February 4, 5,800 infants were avoided from being admitted to emergency departments, including 4,200 infants under two months of age. This is a quarter of the total amount calculated under the “opposite” scenario, excluding Bayfortus.

“When children’s hospitals become overwhelmed, we will definitely benefit from this reduction in hospitalizations. And the impact should be even greater if more children are immunized,” Simon Cochem, a professor at the Pasteur Institute and lead author of the study, told Le Parisien. Compared to the number of children treated (more than 200,000), this result also corresponds to one hospitalization averted for every 40 children immunized.

Will there be a vaccine for pregnant women soon?

The impact would be even greater if all hospitalizations were taken into account, not just those recorded after a trip to the emergency department. But be careful: this is just an estimate based on a mathematical model with various methodological limitations. Moreover, here we are only talking about RSV bronchiolitis.

Other viruses can also cause this type of disease, so Bayfortus cannot be expected to be effective. “In the beginning we worked with all bronchiolitis. But we noticed that some of them occurred when the VRS was not circulating,” describes Simon Cochemez.

More children could receive this preventive treatment next year… provided labs and health authorities agree on the number of doses and purchase price, as demand exceeded government expectations last fall. But Beifortus may no longer be alone in this niche: Pfizer’s vaccine, aimed at protecting children against RSV infections and intended for pregnant women, could hit the market in the coming months.