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Most Americans would recommend RSV immunizations for older adults, infants, pregnant women
Laine Bergeson
Today at 5:41 p.m.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
The findings, based on responses from 1,637 US adults collected from November 17 to December 1, 2025, show increased familiarity with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved RSV immunizations, which include vaccines for older adults and pregnant women, as well as monoclonal antibody products (nirsevimab and clesrovimab) for infants.
About 56% of respondents said they were aware of an FDA-approved RSV vaccine for older adults, up from 42% in October 2023, and 38% said they knew of a maternal RSV vaccine to protect infants, up from 12% in August 2023.
Most Americans would recommend immunizations to friends, family
When asked how likely they would be to recommend RSV immunizations to family or friends, the majority of respondents said they would be likely to do so.
Respondents also expressed confidence in the safety of RSV immunizations: 70% said it is safer for older adults to get the RSV vaccine than to get RSV, and 58% said the same for pregnant women. Both percentages represent a five-point increase over February 2025.
“It’s encouraging to see the increase in the likelihood of recommending the RSV vaccine to people who are pregnant or the monoclonal antibody to parents of newborns and infants,” notes Ken Winneg, PhD, managing director of survey research at APPC. “It’s important for OB-GYNs, pediatricians, and public health officials to communicate the value of these immunizations.”
Federal officials re-examine vaccines long considered safe
RSV is a respiratory virus that typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but it remains a leading cause of hospitalization in infants and a significant cause of severe respiratory disease in older adults and people with underlying conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100,000 older Americans and as many as 58,000 infants and young children are hospitalized with RSV annually in the United States.
While influenza has dominated the headlines during the 2025–26 respiratory virus season, RSV activity remains elevated in parts of the United States and poses a serious risk to infants, young children, and older adults. Recent surveillance suggests that the virus is contributing to emergency department visits and hospital admissions among young children.
The rise in RSV activity comes as US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, has strongarmed federal health officials into scaling back childhood vaccine recommendations and pushed them to re-examine vaccines long established as safe and effective. HHS has not provided any new evidence to support its recent changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, which include slashing the number of diseases to vaccinate against from 17 to 11.
RSV immunization was not cut from the recommended list of childhood vaccines because it relies on a monoclonal antibody rather than a traditional vaccine, though federal officials described RSV prevention as a tool increasingly reserved for high-risk groups. Later, an HHS official clarified that “high-risk” includes otherwise healthy infants whose mothers were not vaccinated during pregnancy, meaning that CDC guidance for RSV prevention in newborns remains effectively unchanged.
Current recommendations call for either maternal RSV vaccination during late pregnancy or administration of a monoclonal antibody injection to infants born during RSV season, typically October through March in the United States. The CDC also recommends antibody protection for certain children ages 8 to 19 months at increased risk for severe RSV.
The survey’s results carry a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, meaning that most reported percentages could vary by that amount in either direction if all US adults had been surveyed.
Most Americans would recommend RSV immunizations for older adults, infants, pregnant women
Laine Bergeson
Today at 5:41 p.m.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
Acceptance of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunizations in the United States is growing, particularly for older adults, infants, and pregnant women, according to a new nationally representative panel survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania.The findings, based on responses from 1,637 US adults collected from November 17 to December 1, 2025, show increased familiarity with Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved RSV immunizations, which include vaccines for older adults and pregnant women, as well as monoclonal antibody products (nirsevimab and clesrovimab) for infants.
About 56% of respondents said they were aware of an FDA-approved RSV vaccine for older adults, up from 42% in October 2023, and 38% said they knew of a maternal RSV vaccine to protect infants, up from 12% in August 2023.
Most Americans would recommend immunizations to friends, family
When asked how likely they would be to recommend RSV immunizations to family or friends, the majority of respondents said they would be likely to do so.
- A total of 64% said they would recommend the RSV vaccine to a friend or family member aged 75 or older or a high-risk person aged 50 to 74.
- In total, 61% said they would recommend the RSV vaccine to someone who is pregnant to help protect the newborn. That represents a significant increase from September 2024, when 46% said they would recommend it.
- Overall, 59% said they would recommend the monoclonal antibody injection for newborns or infants born during RSV season if their mother was not vaccinated during pregnancy. This is a notable increase from September 2024, when 46% said they would recommend it.
Respondents also expressed confidence in the safety of RSV immunizations: 70% said it is safer for older adults to get the RSV vaccine than to get RSV, and 58% said the same for pregnant women. Both percentages represent a five-point increase over February 2025.
“It’s encouraging to see the increase in the likelihood of recommending the RSV vaccine to people who are pregnant or the monoclonal antibody to parents of newborns and infants,” notes Ken Winneg, PhD, managing director of survey research at APPC. “It’s important for OB-GYNs, pediatricians, and public health officials to communicate the value of these immunizations.”
Federal officials re-examine vaccines long considered safe
RSV is a respiratory virus that typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but it remains a leading cause of hospitalization in infants and a significant cause of severe respiratory disease in older adults and people with underlying conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100,000 older Americans and as many as 58,000 infants and young children are hospitalized with RSV annually in the United States.
While influenza has dominated the headlines during the 2025–26 respiratory virus season, RSV activity remains elevated in parts of the United States and poses a serious risk to infants, young children, and older adults. Recent surveillance suggests that the virus is contributing to emergency department visits and hospital admissions among young children.
The rise in RSV activity comes as US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, has strongarmed federal health officials into scaling back childhood vaccine recommendations and pushed them to re-examine vaccines long established as safe and effective. HHS has not provided any new evidence to support its recent changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, which include slashing the number of diseases to vaccinate against from 17 to 11.
RSV immunization was not cut from the recommended list of childhood vaccines because it relies on a monoclonal antibody rather than a traditional vaccine, though federal officials described RSV prevention as a tool increasingly reserved for high-risk groups. Later, an HHS official clarified that “high-risk” includes otherwise healthy infants whose mothers were not vaccinated during pregnancy, meaning that CDC guidance for RSV prevention in newborns remains effectively unchanged.
Current recommendations call for either maternal RSV vaccination during late pregnancy or administration of a monoclonal antibody injection to infants born during RSV season, typically October through March in the United States. The CDC also recommends antibody protection for certain children ages 8 to 19 months at increased risk for severe RSV.
The survey’s results carry a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, meaning that most reported percentages could vary by that amount in either direction if all US adults had been surveyed.