In Germany and many other countries, severe respiratory diseases have recently increased significantly - the USA has now approved the world's first vaccine against the so-called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). British pharmaceutical giant GSK's Arexvy vaccine to protect against respiratory diseases has been approved for adults over 60, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Wednesday. The authority spoke of an important achievement "to prevent a disease that can be life-threatening".

RSV is a global pathogen that usually causes only mild symptoms. However, it can cause severe respiratory diseases and become dangerous, especially in the elderly and people with a weakened immune system, but also in newborns and infants. According to official figures, between 6,000 and 10,000 deaths in the over 65-year-olds in the USA are attributable to the virus every year.

After the corona pandemic subsided, severe respiratory diseases had increased significantly again in many countries around the world. In Germany, for example, more newborns and infants than usual had to be treated in clinics for acute respiratory diseases last winter. Experts suspect a catch-up effect after the corona pandemic, where comparatively few children came into contact with RSV. So far, the disease can only be treated symptomatically.

GSK's vaccine is expected to be approved in the European Union (EU) soon. The EU medicines agency EMA already gave the green light last week. The final approval by the EU Commission should therefore take place very soon. The pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna are also hoping for approval for the vaccines they have developed against RSV.

Vaccines against the virus had been sought for years. Experts assume that more than ten billion euros in sales can be made with them in the next ten years.