Doctors, parents urge gov’t to approve RSV medication ahead of virus season

AMMAN — Doctors and parents in Jordan are urging the government to issue approval for the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) medication, recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approved to protect infants and young children before the start of RSV season in the fall. 

Respiratory and critical care specialist Mohammad Hassan Tarawneh informed The Jordan Times that this medication is highly beneficial for newborns, as it effectively addresses lower respiratory tract infections.

“After enduring a challenging season with the coronavirus, followed by an RSV outbreak last winter, this new drug brings hope for protecting infants from respiratory illnesses,” Tarawneh said.

Tarawneh emphasised that RSV is responsible for the deaths of 1 in every 50 children under the age of five worldwide, as children are highly susceptible to the viral infection.

“The recently introduced drug is a monoclonal antibody treatment that directly enables the body to combat the disease,” Tarawneh said.

RSV typically affects children around the age of two, and causes bronchiolitis, which affects the smaller airways in the lungs known as the bronchioles, and is primarily experienced by children. In infants, this condition can worsen and may require hospitalisation.

While the virus results in thousands of hospitalisations and deaths in young children and the elderly worldwide each year, efforts to develop a vaccine have been hindered due to RSV’s complex molecular structure and safety concerns after its discovery in 1956.

Tarawneh stressed that the medication is prescribed only for high-risk cases as a preventive treatment, particularly for children with heart defects or immunodeficiencies with the aim of preventing severe complications in the lower respiratory tract.

The drug triggers the body to produce antibodies against the disease-causing agents. It also functions as a form of passive immunity, where the antibody binds to the virus and prevents it from infecting healthy cells, eliminating the need for the immune system to generate its own antibodies.

The drug is administered as a single injection for infants before the start of the RSV season, which typically peaks during the fall and winter.

Additionally, Tarawneh reported that the FDA has allowed a second injection for infants up to 24 months old who are still at risk during the virus season.

Shatha Mahasneh, a mother of two children, told The Jordan Times about her frightening experience with RSV last year, stating: “I am a parent of a two-year-old, and last year, my child contracted RSV, which was incredibly distressing”.

Mahasneh called on the authorities to make the medication available as soon as possible, “even if it’s not going to be covered by insurance policies”.

“When I heard about the newly approved medication, I was relieved and hopeful that it could help prevent similar incidents in the future,” Mahasneh said. 

The fact that it’s a preventive treatment for high-risk cases, like my child, reassures me as a parent, she added. 

“I really hope that the authorities make sure the medication is available ahead of the RSV season so that parents can feel more secure about their children’s health,” said Abdallah Thafer, the father of a child with asthma. 

Thafer added that gaining access to this medication would provide children with a layer of protection during the RSV season, and bring some relief to parents.