New research programme explores how to better protect babies from RSV | News

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust is supporting research aimed at improving protection for babies against a common winter virus, RSV bronchiolitis.

This work is part of a wider partnership with NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire and Humber and the University of Oxford. The aim is to understand how well the new RSV vaccination programme is working and how to protect as many babies as possible, especially those at higher risk, such as babies born prematurely.

The research is part of the Born and Bred in Wakefield research cohort, which tracks the health, wellbeing, and experiences of families in the Wakefield district over time. It is being embedded within maternity and neonatal care pathways, helping to ensure that findings benefit families locally in Wakefield and North Kirklees whilst contributing to national learning.

Two complementary studies are underway as part of the programme. RSV-Protect is tracking vaccine uptake and measuring real-world effectiveness using linked data from the Born and Bred in Wakefield network, including whether timing of vaccination or belonging to a higher-risk group affects protection.

The RSV-Immune study is following mothers who have received the RSV vaccine, and those who have not, and their babies to understand how immunity is passed from mother to baby, how long protection lasts, and what this means for premature infants, who are most vulnerable to severe infection.

This research will also help to better understand how vaccination programmes can reduce health inequalities, ensuring that protection reaches babies and families who are at greatest risk.

Judith Holliday, Deputy Director of Research at Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, said: “RSV can have a significant impact on babies and their families, particularly those who are most vulnerable. By contributing to this research, we are supporting efforts to better understand how vaccination can be used effectively in practice. This will help strengthen the way we deliver care locally and ensure that babies and families across our communities benefit from the latest evidence.”

Patients and families are playing an important role in the research through BaBi Wakefield, which mothers and birthing people can join during pregnancy until discharge from maternity services. More information is available at: www.midyorks.nhs.uk/babi.

Together, these findings will help optimise the RSV vaccination programme and ensure that NHS organisations across the country can deliver the best possible care for newborn babies.