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A new vaccination programme to combat a common winter virus is set to be rolled out across Wales from September.
The jabs would combat respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is a common, but potentially dangerous, infection which nine in ten children will have had by the age of two.
More than a thousand babies in Wales are hospitalised every year with RSV.
It can also lead to serious health complications for adults aged 75 and older, resulting in around 125 deaths every year in Wales.
For most people, RSV causes a mild illness such as a cough or cold, but babies under the age of one year, and older people, are at risk of being seriously unwell from the virus.
The vaccination programme will see people aged between 75 and 79 years-old offered vaccinations against RSV for the first time.
Pregnant women, from 28 weeks gestation, will also be offered the vaccination.
Wales’ health secretary, Eluned Morgan, said: “Evidence shows that the vaccine is safe and effective and vaccinating our mothers-to-be will help to prevent our youngest babies becoming seriously ill from the virus from birth.
“This vaccine will also help us to keep older adults safe over the winter months and I would encourage all those who are eligible to come forward.”
Dr Christopher Johnson, head of vaccine preventable disease programme at Public Health Wales, welcomed Baroness Morgan’s announcement.
Dr Johnson said: “While RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild symptoms, it can be serious for the more vulnerable.
“Infants and older adults are more likely to develop severe RSV, which could require hospitalisation.
“This vaccination programme will be in place to protect vulnerable groups now and in the future.”
He continued: “The RSV vaccine has the potential to save 1,000 young children every year in Wales from hospitalisation and could save the lives of over 125 older people each year.
“It is a game-changing new vaccination programme that will protect thousands of our most vulnerable from getting ill in the first place, or significantly reducing the likelihood of severe infection – keeping people out of hospital and from needing to see a GP, and enabling more people to benefit from NHS services.”
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