RSV vaccine available for seniors, but province not covering $200 shot

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This article was published 18/09/2023 (808 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gail Corne experienced some sticker shock when she visited the Tuxedo Safeway pharmacy and presented her prescription for the newly approved respiratory syncytial virus vaccine.

The vaccine for people over the age of 60 is available at some local pharmacies and costs about $200.

The province is waiting on recommendations from Canada’s national advisory committee on immunization — expected to come next year — before considering a free public rollout of the shot. That means people who want protection in time for this fall’s respiratory infection season will have to pay out of pocket.

“That’s outrageous,” Corne said, adding the province should make it available at no cost immediately. “There are some people who will not be able to afford it.”

The vaccine, called Arexvy and manufactured by GSK, was approved by Health Canada in early August for those 60 or older. It’s geared toward seniors because older adults are generally at higher risk for respiratory complications. RSV usually causes mild cold symptoms, but it can be severe in infants and seniors, causing breathing problems that could require hospitalization.

A different medication, Beyfortus, has been approved for babies and toddlers to prevent lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV. National recommendations for the administration of both are expected to be released in 2024, with the NACI guidelines for infants expected early next year and the guidelines for adults expected next fall.

“Recommendations from NACI typically play an important role in Manitoba Health’s considerations for publicly-funded immunization programs,” a provincial government spokesperson stated.

Some provinces, including Ontario, are planning a publicly funded rollout of the RSV vaccine. The Ontario government has announced long-term care residents will be first in line. That province is also allowing pharmacists to administer the shot.

It would be an “easy win” to allow Manitoba pharmacists to prescribe and inject vaccines without the need for a prescription from a doctor or nurse practitioner, said Tim Smith, pharmacy practice adviser with Pharmacists Manitoba.

Smith pointed out Arexvy is not the only nationally recommended vaccine that isn’t covered in Manitoba. Vaccines for shingles and pneumonia-type diseases also come at a cost to residents.

“From the perspective of Pharmacists Manitoba, we obviously want for cost not to be a barrier for Manitobans to protect their health, but ultimately it’s the province who decides on whether these are included in (publicly funded) programs.”

Anyone wanting more information about the RSV vaccine should talk to their health provider.

RSV season is typically from October to April. Respiratory infections including RSV caused record-high visits to Winnipeg’s children’s emergency department last winter.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com