Frustrated mother baffled by province’s decision not to protect all babies against RSV

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This article was published 08/11/2024 (696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg mother with a newborn is pleading with the province to start offering RSV shots to all babies.

“To watch your baby struggle to breathe, to not know if they’re going to make it, it sounds awful,” the mother said.

The woman, who the Free Press has agreed not to name as she works in the health-care sector and worries speaking out could affect her job, is adding her voice to calls for change after the Free Press reported Thursday that shots will not be offered in Manitoba this fall despite recent years of higher-than-average hospitalization rates for babies with respiratory syncytial virus.

“There are illnesses we can’t protect him from… but to know that there is something out there that we could do that would not just protect my baby but (all infants), it doesn’t sit right with me,” she said.

Two other provinces, Ontario and Quebec, along with Nunavut, are offering the RSV shots to infants at no charge this fall. The single-dose monoclonal antibody, called nirsevimab — which is not a vaccine but mimics the body’s immune system defences — was approved by Health Canada in April 2023.

In Manitoba, certain high-risk infants are currently eligible to receive an RSV shot called palivizumab through a government-funded program. The shot is more expensive and given monthly, whereas nirsevimab is given once and lasts for at least five months. The province tried to switch from palivizumab to nirsevimab this year but was blocked by the drug maker, Sanofi. The company is making its product available only through publicly funded programs this year.

The Winnipeg mother, whose three-month-old is healthy and not eligible for Manitoba’s high-risk program, remains concerned for her child. Infants naturally have weaker immune systems and are more vulnerable to serious complications from the highly contagious virus. RSV affects the airways of the lungs and is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

She said her family reached out to the health minister’s office weeks ago to express concerns about the shots not being available. The office told the Free Press Friday it will be in touch.

Meanwhile, the mother has contacted pharmacies across the city to see if she can purchase nirsevimab out of pocket — the Canadian list price is about $1,000 — but that doesn’t seem to be an option. The shot is not available for purchase on the private market.

She’s considered driving to Kenora to see if she could pay for it there, but that also seems to be a dead end.

Ontario’s Ministry of Health said in a statement that infants from Manitoba are not eligible to receive nirsevimab while visiting Ontario.

“It’s frustrating that the (Manitoba) government’s decision has prevented me from making an informed decision,” the mother said.

Health-care experts are urging Manitoba to a adopt universal program similar to Ontario’s and fund the shots. The Tories echoed those calls Friday.

Kathleen Cook, PC health critic, said in a statement that the government “should explore every available solution to reduce RSV cases in Manitoba.” Expanding the RSV immunization program for babies and covering maternal vaccinations could reduce strain on the health-care system, she said.

Pregnant Manitobans in their third trimester can access an RSV vaccine called RSVpreF which helps protect their babies, but it comes at a cost. The Canadian list price is $230. Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends nirsevimab for babies over RSVpreF for mothers.

Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, told the Free Press Thursday that Manitoba looks to NACI for guidance. The advisory body recently recommended all provinces start “building towards a universal RSV immunization program for all infants.”

“We’re certainly looking at it,” Roussin said about a future universal program.

RSV season typically starts in late fall and runs through to early spring. Last season, HSC Children’s Hospital saw 199 admissions for children under the age of two with RSV. In the 2022-2023 season there were 280 admissions — a nine-year high. To avoid catching RSV, the public is urged to wash their hands often and avoid people who are sick.

More than 15,700 babies were born in Manitoba in 2023.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca