RSV vaccine in the UK: pregnancy and older adults

Most people have had RSV several times by adulthood and think of it as a cold. The trouble is concentrated at the two ends of life. Babies have narrow airways, so swelling and mucus can make breathing and feeding hard, and RSV is a leading reason young infants are admitted to hospital in winter. In older adults the virus can settle in the lungs, causing pneumonia or a flare of conditions such as COPD.

UKHSA describes RSV as a germ spread by coughs and sneezes that is most common in autumn and winter. Because there is no specific antiviral for most patients, prevention carries the weight, and the UK chose to protect babies through their mothers and older adults directly.

The vaccine is recommended in every pregnancy from 28 weeks. Antibodies made by the mother cross the placenta, so the baby arrives with some protection during the first six months, the period when severe RSV illness is most likely.

Maternity services normally raise it at the 28-week appointment. Having it as soon as possible after 28 weeks gives the baby the longest window of protection, but a woman who missed that appointment can still be vaccinated afterwards. If you are past 28 weeks and nobody has mentioned it, the NHS advises asking your maternity service or GP surgery.

• It can be given alongside the whooping cough and flu vaccines offered in pregnancy, but it is better not to wait for a joint appointment.

• Very young babies at especially high risk may also be offered a course of antibodies, given in hospital children's clinics, as a separate measure.

• UKHSA also publishes a leaflet for parents of premature babies who are offered the antibody product nirsevimab.

The older adult programme began for people aged 75 to 79. UKHSA records that from 1 April 2026 it was widened to everyone aged 75 and over, with a one-off catch-up for those already past 75, and that adults who move into a care home for older adults become eligible regardless of age. Further entries in the UKHSA collection during 2026 describe expansion to certain clinical risk groups.

The NHS patient page lists current groups: 75 and over, residents of care homes for older adults, and people aged 65 to 74 who have a weakened immune system or a long-term lung condition (well-controlled asthma does not count). Because the rules have changed more than once, check with your GP surgery rather than relying on an older leaflet.

Eligible older adults are usually contacted by their GP surgery by letter, text, call or email. Care-home residents arrange it through staff. In a few parts of England, including London, Essex and Suffolk, Lancashire and Merseyside, and parts of the Midlands, some pharmacies also vaccinate.

The vaccine is an injection into the upper arm. The NHS says it is not usually given at the same visit as the flu vaccine in older adults, although it can be if a clinician thinks that is needed, and it can be given together with COVID-19, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines. If you have a high temperature, the appointment is simply moved until you feel better.

The commonest effects are a sore or swollen arm, a headache and an aching body, and they are brief. Serious allergic reactions are very rare, and the only firm reason not to be vaccinated is a previous anaphylactic reaction to this vaccine or one of its ingredients.

The NHS also notes that Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare nerve condition causing tingling, numbness and weakness, has very rarely followed vaccination in older adults. Anyone who develops those symptoms afterwards should seek medical help promptly. The NHS concludes that overall the vaccine is safer than risking a severe RSV infection, and for pregnancy it states that the risk from RSV in a baby outweighs the vaccine's risks. The MHRA has approved it.

Vaccination lowers the chance of pneumonia and bronchiolitis but does not guarantee that you will never catch RSV. Everyday measures still matter: washing hands, wiping toys and surfaces, using and binning tissues, and keeping newborns away from people with colds or flu.

Anyone, vaccinated or not, who is struggling to breathe, is breathing very fast, or cannot feed (in a baby) needs urgent help. The NHS tells people to call 999 for severe breathing difficulty, blue or grey lips, or a child who is floppy and will not wake, and to use NHS 111 for worsening illness or reduced feeding.