Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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245. To ask the Minister for Health if he would consider extending RSV immunisation to babies who were due on or after 1 September 2024 but were born prematurely; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39337/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As you are aware, an infant Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Immunisation Pathfinder Programme will run between September 2024 and February 2025.

All newborn infants born during the programme will be offered immunisation against RSV after birth on site in Irish maternity hospitals. This immunisation will protect newborn infants when they are most vulnerable to the complications of RSV during the winter period when infection rates are at their highest.

As well as protecting newborn infants, this programme will help maintain health service capacity during this coming winter season. The programme is based on NIAC advice and is a temporary programme put in place as an interim measure pending the outcome of a Health Technology Assessment on RSV immunisation currently being undertaken by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

A HTA is a multidisciplinary research process that collects and summarises information about a health technology. The information can cover a range of fields, including clinical effectiveness and safety, cost-effectiveness and budget impact, organisational and social aspects, and ethical and legal issues. The information is collected and presented in a systematic, unbiased and transparent manner.

As well as protecting infants against serious illness, this pathfinder programme also offers the HSE an opportunity to establish working mechanisms and to evaluate the programme. It is a strategic initiative designed to explore innovative approaches to improving health outcomes within a community or population. Such programmes often serve as pilots or models that, if successful, can be scaled up and replicated in other settings.

The outcome of the HTA, and learnings from the pathfinder programme once complete, will inform the development of any longer-term programme and future decision making on this matter.