Priya Alexander

The babies who were born to mothers who received the vaccine in pregnancy were 80% less likely to be admitted to hospital due to RSV.

That is significant numbers.

And worth just pointing out to people that this vaccine rollout happened early last year.

We covered it on the health report.

So it started in February 2025.

And over that period, they've seen hospital admissions for newborns cut by almost half in its first year.

So it's a successful program.

For people who are pregnant or who are thinking about it, we give it to you any time from 28 weeks.

And most of my patients normally come in at 30 weeks for their whooping cough in one arm, RSV in the other.

Yes.

They've usually had influenza by then.

We're getting influenza in the arm now, but you can have that at any gestation.

But, you know, the timings do matter.

So babies get that if mum didn't get the vaccine in pregnancy, if the baby is high risk or if mum got vaccinated and then gives birth less than two weeks later because there's not been time for the antibodies to cross the placenta and get to the baby.

So some babies will get it, not all.

And it depends on the state as well.

And in several states and impacting remote Aboriginal communities.

I think just to go to your point, Dr. Matt Mason, who's from the University of Sunshine Coast, has said, we must be honest, this is not simply a matter of individual vaccine hesitancy.

It reflects decades of underinvestment in culturally appropriate community-led health infrastructure.

So this is a failure.