Acceptance of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine in Pregnant Individuals

Abstract

The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was officially offered to pregnant individuals in 2023–2024, with the purpose of providing immunity to infants and young children. We performed a retrospective review to determine the rate of offering the RSV vaccine and acceptance of the vaccine among patients between 32 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks of gestation. A prospective survey was administered to examine barriers to RSV vaccination. We identified 206 patients, including 111 (53.8%) who were offered the vaccine and 95 (46.1%) who were not offered the vaccine. Of those who were offered the vaccine, 62 (55.9%) accepted and 49 (44.1%) declined. Individuals who declined had significantly higher rates of declining other vaccines in pregnancy (P<.001). More than half of those who declined the RSV vaccine reported both accepting the RSV antibody for their newborn and plans of accepting the vaccine in subsequent pregnancies.