JAMA

Preventing RSV hospitalization: Passive infant immunization superior to maternal vaccination strategy

January 7, 2026

Passively immunizing infants with nirsevimab was linked to reduced risk for RSV-related hospitalization and severe outcomes—compared with maternal vaccination with RSV prefusion F protein (RSVpreF)—according to a population-based cohort study.

This French nationwide study included 42,560 infants (mean age, 3.7 days; male, 51.7%), matched 1:1 by sex, gestational age, maternity ward discharge date, and region; median follow-up was 84 days. The infant nirsevimab strategy was linked to reduced risk for RSV-related hospitalization vs. the maternal RSVpreF vaccine at 32 - 36 weeks’ gestation strategy (hazard ratio [HR], 0.74). Nirsevimab was also linked to reduced risk of severe outcomes such as PICU admission (adjusted HR, 0.58), ventilatory support (adjusted HR, 0.57), or oxygen therapy (adjusted HR, 0.56).

Source:

Jabagi MJ, et al. (2025, December 22). JAMA. Nirsevimab vs RSVpreF Vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Hospitalization in Newborns. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41428474/