Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Ministry of Health has announced that the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine is now available in Saudi Arabia to everyone aged 60 and above.

Dr. Abdullah Asiri, Assistant Deputy Minister for Preventive Health and Infectious Diseases Consultant at the Ministry, encouraged those eligible to contact their family doctor via the "Sehhaty" app to get vaccinated. He emphasized the significance of RSV as a major cause of respiratory infections and its substantial role in increasing the risk of cardiac arrests.

He noted that RSV is a leading cause of hospitalization in the first year of life and a major contributor to pneumonia and related deaths among the elderly. The vaccine is expected to significantly reduce the health burden of this persistent virus.

Earlier in January, Dr. Asiri mentioned that Saudi Arabia would be the fifth country to introduce and use the RSV vaccine for those aged 65 and older, following its approval in the European Union, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Plans are also underway to approve another vaccine designed to protect children in their first six months of life.