The evolving landscape of RSV immunization: Current policies and practices across Europe

Zazie Franck; Sanne Hofstraat; Lotte Jonker; Leyla Kragten; Chiara Messina; Ricardo M Fernandes; Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128222

The evolving landscape of RSV immunization: Current policies and practices across Europe

Zazie Franck^*
, Sanne Hofstraat
, Lotte Jonker
, Leyla Kragten
, Chiara Messina
, Ricardo M Fernandes
, Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen
,

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Following approval of the first Maternal RSV vaccine (MV) and long-acting monoclonal RSV antibody (la-mAbs) in Europe, several countries have begun integrating the products into their infant RSV immunization programs.

METHODS: Based on a survey supplemented by policy documents, this paper provides a descriptive, policy-focused cross-sectional overview of RSV immunization strategies across 32 European countries.

RESULTS: As of September 2025, 22 countries offered programmatic RSV prophylaxis for infants. Of these, 5 use only MV, 10 use only la-mAbs and 7 countries offer both. Considerable variation was observed in programmatic approaches with respect to (gestational) age of administration, delivery pathways, eligibility criteria for mothers and infants, and reimbursement mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS: The RSV immunization policy landscape in Europe is diverse and dynamic, presenting both challenges and opportunities for shared learning and policy development.

Original language	English
Article number	128222
Journal	Vaccine
Volume	76
Early online date	13 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128222
Publication status	Published - 19 Mar 2026

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Cite this

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title = "The evolving landscape of RSV immunization: Current policies and practices across Europe",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Following approval of the first Maternal RSV vaccine (MV) and long-acting monoclonal RSV antibody (la-mAbs) in Europe, several countries have begun integrating the products into their infant RSV immunization programs.METHODS: Based on a survey supplemented by policy documents, this paper provides a descriptive, policy-focused cross-sectional overview of RSV immunization strategies across 32 European countries.RESULTS: As of September 2025, 22 countries offered programmatic RSV prophylaxis for infants. Of these, 5 use only MV, 10 use only la-mAbs and 7 countries offer both. Considerable variation was observed in programmatic approaches with respect to (gestational) age of administration, delivery pathways, eligibility criteria for mothers and infants, and reimbursement mechanisms.CONCLUSIONS: The RSV immunization policy landscape in Europe is diverse and dynamic, presenting both challenges and opportunities for shared learning and policy development.",

author = "Zazie Franck and Sanne Hofstraat and Lotte Jonker and Leyla Kragten and Chiara Messina and Fernandes, \{Ricardo M\} and Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",

year = "2026",

month = mar,

day = "19",

doi = "10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128222",

language = "English",

volume = "76",

journal = "Vaccine",

issn = "0264-410X",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - The evolving landscape of RSV immunization

T2 - Current policies and practices across Europe

AU - Franck, Zazie

AU - Hofstraat, Sanne

AU - Jonker, Lotte

AU - Kragten, Leyla

AU - Messina, Chiara

AU - Fernandes, Ricardo M

AU - Bruijning-Verhagen, Patricia

PY - 2026/3/19

Y1 - 2026/3/19

N2 - BACKGROUND: Following approval of the first Maternal RSV vaccine (MV) and long-acting monoclonal RSV antibody (la-mAbs) in Europe, several countries have begun integrating the products into their infant RSV immunization programs.METHODS: Based on a survey supplemented by policy documents, this paper provides a descriptive, policy-focused cross-sectional overview of RSV immunization strategies across 32 European countries.RESULTS: As of September 2025, 22 countries offered programmatic RSV prophylaxis for infants. Of these, 5 use only MV, 10 use only la-mAbs and 7 countries offer both. Considerable variation was observed in programmatic approaches with respect to (gestational) age of administration, delivery pathways, eligibility criteria for mothers and infants, and reimbursement mechanisms.CONCLUSIONS: The RSV immunization policy landscape in Europe is diverse and dynamic, presenting both challenges and opportunities for shared learning and policy development.

AB - BACKGROUND: Following approval of the first Maternal RSV vaccine (MV) and long-acting monoclonal RSV antibody (la-mAbs) in Europe, several countries have begun integrating the products into their infant RSV immunization programs.METHODS: Based on a survey supplemented by policy documents, this paper provides a descriptive, policy-focused cross-sectional overview of RSV immunization strategies across 32 European countries.RESULTS: As of September 2025, 22 countries offered programmatic RSV prophylaxis for infants. Of these, 5 use only MV, 10 use only la-mAbs and 7 countries offer both. Considerable variation was observed in programmatic approaches with respect to (gestational) age of administration, delivery pathways, eligibility criteria for mothers and infants, and reimbursement mechanisms.CONCLUSIONS: The RSV immunization policy landscape in Europe is diverse and dynamic, presenting both challenges and opportunities for shared learning and policy development.

U2 - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128222

DO - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128222

M3 - Article

C2 - 41690867

SN - 0264-410X

VL - 76

JO - Vaccine

JF - Vaccine

M1 - 128222

ER -

The evolving landscape of RSV immunization: Current policies and practices across Europe

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