Welsh mum urges RSV vaccine after newborn nearly died — SkimNews
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- Jo Goldsmith said her daughter Phoebe contracted RSV at five days old, and on Christmas Eve doctors told her family to "prepare for the worst"; Phoebe survived but suffered ongoing chest problems and hearing loss.
- The RSV vaccine was introduced in Wales in September 2024 and was unavailable when Goldsmith was pregnant four years ago — she said she "definitely would have had it" rather than endure what the family went through.
- Nerys Evans, Wales's Deputy Minister for Public and Preventative Health, urged all eligible adults to come forward for their flu jab, COVID-19 booster, and RSV vaccine, calling them separate protections that can mean the difference between "a mild illness and a serious hospital stay."
- RSV accounts for an estimated 2,300 to 2,600 hospital admissions in Welsh children under two and 400 to 600 deaths in over-75s each year, alongside roughly 7,000 to 9,500 GP appointments in each age group.
- The Welsh government has extended RSV vaccine eligibility this autumn to higher-risk adults aged 65 to 74, including the immunosuppressed and those with chronic respiratory disease, alongside the existing year-round offer to over-75s and pregnant women from 28 weeks.
- Phoebe was admitted to a high-dependency unit as her condition deteriorated; Goldsmith, a children's nurse and health visitor from Haverfordwest, said her clinical experience told her "we were going to be in for a bit of a rough ride."
Why it matters: RSV hospitalizes roughly 2,300 to 2,600 Welsh children under two and kills an estimated 400 to 600 over-75s each winter — but a maternal vaccine given from 28 weeks of pregnancy is now available year-round in Wales to shield newborns before they are exposed. With eligibility this autumn widened to high-risk 65-to-74-year-olds, tens of thousands more Welsh adults have a concrete prevention option ahead of the cold season.
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