RSV prophylaxis and other vaccines: The role of pediatric nurse practitioners

RSV prophylaxis and other vaccines: The role of pediatric nurse practitioners | Image Credit: © Pixel-Shot - stock.adobe.com.

In the May 2025 issue of Contemporary Pediatrics, Noah Christian, MD; and
Joseph M. Collaco, MD, PhD, provided summary details about the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, Palivizumab and Nirsevimab, and new recommendations for the adult RSV vaccine for older adults and adults with chronic illnesses in their article "RSV prophylaxis: Palivizumab, nirsevimab, and more".¹ The authors summarized valuable information about the available vaccines for the prevention of the respiratory syncytial virus, which all health care providers should be familiar with prior to the beginning of the traditional RSV season and in areas of the country where the ‘traditional’ season has changed.

Role of PNP in support of RSV vaccination

Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) and all pediatric-focused nurse practitioners have a responsibility to provide vaccines and all health care according to the best available scientific evidence. This is our commitment to our profession, to the children we are entrusted to care for, to their parents, and to our personal beliefs to strive for excellence in all the care we provide every day. The CDC has always provided in-depth analysis for all vaccines. For the RSV vaccine, Nirsevimab, detailed information on the CDC website includes what we need to know about the vaccine, an overview of the vaccine, vaccine recommendations, specific recommendations for pediatric populations with chronic illnesses, and administration of RSV as a seasonal vaccine as well as the most recent recommendations for locations with an unpredictable RSV circulation pattern.² Dosages, safety and effectiveness, contraindications, precautions, and reporting of any adverse events post-vaccine are also provided.² Specifically, for the RSV vaccine, the CDC provides information on when an infant needs the vaccine based on the maternal prenatal history and timing of the maternal vaccine.² Christian and Collaco also provided succinct details for the information about the RSV vaccines that are available on the CDC website.¹

Our commitment to our profession and to the pediatric populations

As PNPs, we are well educated on the value of vaccines in preventing vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) in all pediatric populations and adults. The thought of any nationwide reduction in the availability of vaccines to protect everyone who needs and wants to receive a vaccine to prevent contracting a VPD or the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine that reduces hospitalization and death is unacceptable!

The COVID-19 pandemic is etched permanently in our memories. We are reminded on a regular basis of the tremendous losses we all experienced during the pandemic. Today, we care for children who have lost 1 or both parents and/or grandparents, siblings, and other family members. We recognize and treat the mental health problems these children and adolescents are experiencing from these irreplaceable losses and from their personal experiences during the pandemic. Many health care providers lost medical and nursing professional colleagues who contracted COVID-19 while caring for patients before the first COVID-19 vaccine was available. The hope of an end to the pandemic emerged with the "warp" speed initiatives to produce an effective, safe COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to produce antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. The COVID-19 vaccine was extremely successful and performed as it was intended.

COVID-19 has not disappeared. The thought of possibly exposing infants, children, adolescents, and adults under 65 years old to COVID-19 again, without the opportunity to obtain a protective COVID-19 vaccine, defies our professional Code of Ethics as health care professionals. It is time to speak out to our national House of Representatives and Senators to stop a possible resurgence of COVID-19 and to protect the valuable vaccines that we have the privilege of having available to all in the United States.

References:

1. Christian, N. & Collaco, JM. (2025). RSV prophylaxis: Palivizumab, nirsevimab, and more. Contemporary Pediatrics. 2025;41(4),18-20. Accessed May 20, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/rsv-prophylaxis-palivizumab-nirsevimab-and-more

2. RSV immunization guidance for infant and young children. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2024. August 30, 2024. Accessed May 20, 2025. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/hcp/vaccine-clinical-guidance/infants-young-children.html#cdc_cg_special_populations_test_screen-additional-considerations