GSK RSV Vaccine Data Signals Major Breakthrough

GSK plc today unveiled new real-world data on its RSV vaccine at RSVVW’26, the 9th Conference of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Foundation in Rome. The company is presenting 19 abstracts and supporting three more, reinforcing its focus on preventing serious respiratory disease in older adults.

A large U.S. retrospective cohort study of more than 2.5 million adults aged 60 and older found the RSV vaccine was associated with 75.6% effectiveness against RSV-related hospitalization.

The analysis compared 520,440 vaccinated adults with over 2 million matched unvaccinated individuals during the 2023–2024 season. At a median follow-up of 5.6 months, 95 vaccinated individuals were hospitalized for RSV compared to 1,419 in the unvaccinated group.

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Researchers also observed a 63.1% reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, during RSV-related hospitalizations. The vaccine was further linked to a 74.4% reduction in severe COPD flare-ups and a 61.6% reduction in severe asthma flare-ups during hospitalization.

In a separate nationwide study in Denmark focused on COPD patients aged 60 and older, no vaccinated individuals were hospitalized for RSV, reflecting 100% observed effectiveness.

While observational studies cannot prove cause and effect, the findings add to growing evidence that vaccination may help reduce serious respiratory and cardiovascular complications. The vaccine is approved in more than 65 countries for adults 60 and older and in several regions for younger at-risk adults.