NHS respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine

All adults aged 80 and over, and people living in a care home for older adults, are now eligible for the NHS respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, following the expansion of the vaccination programme to around 3 million more people.

RSV is a common virus that infects the lungs. While symptoms are mild for many people, the virus can be severe in older adults, causing pneumonia, bronchitis and flare-ups of existing lung disease and other long-term conditions. This can make it difficult to breathe and leave some older people requiring hospital treatment.

RSV causes around 9,000 hospitalisations in those aged over 75 in the UK each year, but a single dose of the vaccine provides protection for several years.

The vaccine can be booked via your GP practice, by speaking to staff in care homes and some community pharmacies in parts of England are also offering the RSV vaccine.