Understanding RSV Beyond the Hospital Walls

While RSV is well-known for overwhelming hospitals during peak seasons, its real and often underreported toll begins in pediatric clinics and private practices. The Excellence in Pediatrics Institute, with support from Sanofi, conducted an in-depth assessment to highlight the unseen burden, challenges, and opportunities to improve RSV diagnosis, treatment, and prevention where care starts—at the community level.
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RSV Prevention Starts Here: The Pressure on Pediatric Frontlines

Primary care physicians and private pediatricians are often the first to encounter RSV cases. This survey uncovered a rising trend in both the volume and severity of RSV cases in infants—especially those aged 6–12 months. From prolonged symptoms and hospitalizations to disrupted daycare and family life, the impact extends beyond the clinic, putting pressure on already strained practices and communities.
  1. Higher case volume and severity
  2. Longer symptom duration in young infants
  3. Hospitalization risks and follow-up complexity
  4. Indirect socioeconomic burden on families
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What the Evidence Shows

The LifeCourse Prevention Initiative draws on scientific evidence and expert analysis to examine the burden of RSV and the implications for prevention policy.

The 2026 policy report “Protecting Every Infant” outlines the clinical evidence, real-world impact of new prevention tools, and the system-level changes required to deliver effective and equitable protection.
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RSV Is Not a Mild Disease

Severe illness and hospitalization occur in otherwise healthy, full-term infants, challenging the perception of RSV as a routine seasonal infection.

Prevention Is Now Possible

New strategies such as long-acting monoclonal antibodies and maternal immunization, have demonstrated substantial reductions in severe disease and hospitalization.

Universal Protection Is More Effective

Targeted approaches leave many infants unprotected. Evidence shows that broader, population-level strategies achieve greater impact.

Implementation Is the Key Challenge

The main barrier is no longer scientific. The priority is how prevention strategies are integrated into health systems and delivered at scale.

From Innovation to Implementation

The evidence is clear, but implementation remains uneven. Translating RSV prevention into effective programmes requires coordinated system-level action.
  1. Program Integration: RSV prevention is not yet consistently embedded within national immunisation frameworks.
  2. Delivery Across Pathways: Maternal and infant strategies remain insufficiently aligned across healthcare settings.
  3. Coverage and Access: Achieving high and equitable uptake across populations remains a critical challenge.
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Policy Reports and Evidence

Explore the policy reports developed through the LifeCourse Prevention Initiative, bringing together scientific evidence, expert input, and system-level analysis to inform RSV prevention strategies.

Policy Report 2025

Strengthening RSV diagnostics, care standards, prevention, and education is key to improving outcomes and easing the burden on healthcare systems.

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Policy Report 2026

Explore the detailed findings from the survey conducted by Excellence in Pediatrics Institute, with support from Sanofi.

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11th LifeCourse Health Prevention Summit 2026

Building on a Decade of Impact, the Annual Science-Policy Interface Summit on Health Prevention proudly enters its 11th year with a renewed and holistic approach.
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