How long can one RSV shot protect seniors? Study shows surprising two-year shield
- Date:
- September 1, 2025
- Source:
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Summary:
- A single RSV vaccine dose is proving to be a powerful shield for older adults, significantly reducing hospitalizations and severe illness over two consecutive RSV seasons. While protection is strongest in the first year and declines somewhat in the second, the findings highlight both the immediate benefits and the importance of ongoing monitoring. With RSV causing tens of thousands of hospitalizations every year in the U.S., this research underscores the potential of vaccination to save lives and guide future booster strategies.
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One shot of an RSV vaccine protects adults ages 60 or older from RSV-associated hospitalization and critical illness during two consecutive RSV seasons, according to a study published in JAMA on August 30 by the IVY Network research group.
RSV causes substantial seasonal illness during fall and winter in the U.S., with an estimated 100,000-150,000 hospitalizations and 4,000-8,000 deaths occurring annually among adults 60 or older.
The results reinforce the recommendations for RSV vaccines in older adults and lay the groundwork for understanding how long a single dose of the vaccine may be effective, according to Wesley Self, MD, MPH, principal investigator for the IVY Network and Senior Vice President for Clinical Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"These results clearly demonstrate that the RSV vaccines prevent hospitalizations and critical illness due to RSV infection among older Americans," Self said. "It is exciting to see the public health benefits of this new vaccination program."
Investigators used data from a multicenter hospital network known as the IVY Network (The Investigating Respiratory Viruses in the Acutely Ill Network) to assess RSV vaccine effectiveness. They used a test-negative, case-control study design among 6,958 persons 60 years or older who had been hospitalized with acute respiratory illness at one of 26 hospitals in 20 US states during two RSV seasons from October 1, 2023-March 31, 2024 and October 1, 2024-April 30, 2025.
Overall, vaccination reduced the risk of RSV hospitalization by 58% during two RSV seasons, including 69% in the first year after vaccination and 48% in the second year after vaccination.
"Our data show that the beneficial effects of RSV vaccines appear to wane over time," Self said. "Redosing the vaccine at some interval after the initial dose could be a strategy to maintain protection over longer periods of time. It will be important to continue to closely monitor vaccine effectiveness over time to understand how long the benefit lasts after a single dose and if repeat dosing should be considered."
Current RSV vaccine recommendations are for all adults aged 75 years and older and those aged 60-74 years who are at an increased risk of severe RSV.
This study was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via award 75D30122C14944.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Diya Surie, Wesley H. Self, Katharine A. Yuengling, Adam S. Lauring, Yuwei Zhu, Basmah Safdar, Adit A. Ginde, Samantha J. Simon, Ithan D. Peltan, Samuel M. Brown, Manjusha Gaglani, Shekhar Ghamande, Cristie Columbus, Nicholas M. Mohr, Kevin W. Gibbs, David N. Hager, Matthew Prekker, Michelle N. Gong, Amira Mohamed, Nicholas J. Johnson, Jay S. Steingrub, Akram Khan, Abhijit Duggal, Alexandra J. Gordon, Nida Qadir, Steven Y. Chang, Christopher Mallow, Jamie R. Felzer, Jennie H. Kwon, Matthew C. Exline, Ivana A. Vaughn, Mayur Ramesh, Leigh Papalambros, Jarrod M. Mosier, Estelle S. Harris, Adrienne Baughman, Sydney A. Cornelison, Paul W. Blair, Cassandra A. Johnson, Nathaniel M. Lewis, Sascha Ellington, Carlos G. Grijalva, H. Keipp Talbot, Jonathan D. Casey, Natasha Halasa, James D. Chappell, Rachel E. Rutkowski, Kevin C. Ma, Fatimah S. Dawood, Kelsey N. Womack, Jillian P. Rhoads, Colleen M. Ratcliff, Todd W. Rice, Julio Angulo, Stacey Batey, Marcia Blair, Shanice Cummings, Abby Fink, Claudia Guevara, Rendie McHenry, Anna Jackson, Jennifer Luther, Bryan Peterson, Neekar Rashid, Wanderson Rezende, Kalee Rumfelt, Laura Short, Bijal Parikh, Carleigh Samuels, Lucy Vogt, Caroline O\'Neil, Alyssa Valencia, Francesca Yerbic, Olivia Arter, Akshay Saluja, Elianora Ovchiyan, Sachina Mensah, David McDonald, Kim Vu, Vasisht Srinivasan, Mallie McKeon, Joshua Acidera, Leenay Coughlin, Dylan Clark, Catherine Hough, Annabelle Blue, Davika Dige, Jenny Chan, Maria Makman, Connie Tran, Riya Mathew, Emily Tribbet, Adrian Hernandez, Genesis Briceno, Cameron Hypes, Karen Lutrick, Beth Salvagio Campbell, Anirudh Goyal, Uchechi Okoronkwo, Ivan Velasquez, Kimberly Manchester, Adra Yigitkanli, Harith Ali, Safa Saeed, Minh Phan, Carolina Rivas, Laurynn M. Giles, Mary O\'Rourke, Audrey Hendrickson, Anne Frosch, Cody Tran, Sukantha Chandrasekaran, Omai Garner, Riylie McBride, Bryce Bosworth, Hannah Strait, Darija Ward, Tresa McNeal, Kempapura Murthy, Leah Odame-Bamfo, Nicole Calhoun, Jocelyn Cravens, Spencer Rose, Michael Smith, Catherine Raver, Robert Gottlieb, Sydney Buehrig, Priyanka Rana, Marianna Hurutado-Rodriguez, Gabriela Perez, Lois E. Lamerato, Khaled Almawri, Jaskiran Bansal, Rachna Jayaprakash, Jean Ashley Lava, Alycia Lilla, Catherine McKeon, Zina Pinderi, Maria Santana-Garces, Tanisha Shack, Shruti Tirumala, Katrina Williams, Ashley Bychkowski, Symone Dunkley, Tammy Fisher, Sheila Gasparek, Daniela Gonzalez, Therissa Grefsrub, Mariana Hurutado-Rodriguez, Denisse Mariscal, Sarah Karow, Maryiam Khan, Gabrielle Swoope, Brooke Lee, Amani Rasul, Rushil Madan, Tyler Haley, Kristina Luikart, Amer Charif, Rasha Alrifae, Thomas Sturges, Ibrahim Abu Hammad, Connor Lang, Manish Pathak, Jun Sung Park, Connor Snyder, Reece Wilson, Zachery Lewald, Anne Zepeski, Paul Nassar, Jacob Hampton, Cathy Fairfield, Heath Gibbs, Courtney Feitsam, Ike Appleton, Samantha Simon, Amanda Martinez, Amy Sullivan, Anna Barrow, Jacob Rademacher, Erika Alor, Yvette Evans, Laura Aguilar Marquez, Joselyn Bassett, Shandi Poulson, Vineela Thumma, Alexander Webber, Lauren Vanasse, Laurence W. Busse, William S. Bender, Jennifer G. Wilson, Emily T. Martin, Aleda M. Leis. RSV Vaccine Effectiveness Against Hospitalization Among US Adults Aged 60 Years or Older During 2 Seasons. JAMA, 2025; DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.15896
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