Surveillance-based estimation of the impact of introducing a pathfinder programme for nirsevimab immunisation in Ireland on infant hospitalisations due to respiratory syncytial virus in 2024/2025
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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) presents a significant health risk to young infants and substantially burdens already stretched health systems every winter. Ireland launched a RSV immunisation pathfinder programme for newborns and other clinically vulnerable infants in September of 2024. While a comprehensive evaluation of the programme is underway, we aimed to rapidly analyse the impact of the programme on infant RSV hospitalisations. Based on an analysis of notified RSV hospitalisations spanning this and four previous seasons using generalised additive models, we estimated that there was a 75% reduction in the incidence rate for nirsevimab eligible infants born this season, conditional on the age-group and season effects adjusted for in the model (incidence rate ratio 0.25; 95% CI 0.19 to 0.33). This corresponded to an estimated 532 RSV hospitalisations averted (95%CI 369 to 695) for this group, in this season.
