Peer-reviewed article
Parental acceptability of new RSV preventive therapies for infants: A cross-sectional survey in Canada.
Tiffany Fitzpatrick, Jeanna Parsons Leigh, Rebecca Brundin-Mather, Jade MacDonald, Wade Blanchard et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study surveyed over 1,000 Canadian parents about their willingness to use two new RSV prevention products for infants: a prenatal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody injection. About 72% of parents agreed to use at least one product, with 61% accepting the prenatal vaccine and 60% accepting the antibody. Acceptance was higher among older parents, those with university education, higher income, and parents who had previously received other vaccines like Tdap or flu shots.
Key points
- Overall acceptability of RSV preventive products was 72%, with 61% for prenatal vaccine (RSVpreF) and 60% for monoclonal antibody (nirsevimab)
- Older parental age (25-34 vs 18-24 years) was associated with 3.64 times higher odds of accepting RSVpreF
- University-educated parents had 3.65 times higher odds of accepting RSVpreF compared to high school-educated parents
- Parents who had received Tdap vaccine had 3.76 times higher odds of accepting RSVpreF, suggesting prior vaccine acceptance predicts new vaccine uptake
- Most parents (76%) rated product safety, 71% rated effectiveness, and 70% rated disease severity risk as important decision factors
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional and captures intentions rather than actual uptake behaviour. It does not evaluate whether parents who agreed actually received the products, nor does it assess long-term acceptance after rollout or actual experience with the vaccines.
Abstract
Two new RSV immunization products exist for infants: a prenatal vaccine (RSVpreF) and a long-acting monoclonal antibody for infants (nirsevimab). While both showed promise in clinical trials, implementation has varied across jurisdictions. Before rollout in Canada, we conducted an anonymized, online survey with a nationally representative sample of 1,015 expectant and recent birth parents. The primary outcome was product acceptability (disagree, undecided, agree). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) identified factors associated with agreement or indecision versus disagreement. Approximately 49% (n = 499) were expecting; 51% (n = 516) had a baby in the past year. Overall, 72% (n = 727) agreed to receive a product: 61% (n = 624) for RSVpreF and 60% (n = 608) for nirsevimab. RSVpreF agreement was higher among older parents (e.g., OR = 3.64; 95% CI, 1.99-6.67 for age 25-34 versus 18-24 years), those with a university degree (OR = 3.65; 95% CI, 2.01-6.64 versus high school), higher income (OR = 2.31; 95% CI, 1.01-5.28 for ≥$150k versus <$40k), or receipt/intention for Tdap (OR = 3.76; 95% CI, 2.37-5.96 versus no receipt/intention) or influenza (OR = 2.04; 95% CI, 1.29-3.21) vaccines. Agreement was higher among parents of children without a high-risk medical condition compared to those with (OR = 2.32; 95% CI, 1.44-3.72). Similar trends were observed for nirsevimab, with lower agreement also noted among those who self-researched antibodies (OR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.30-0.88 versus not). As most respondents rated product safety (76%), effectiveness (71%), and disease severity risk (70%) as important in decision-making, providing clear information on these, alongside communications targeted to subgroups with lower agreement, may optimize uptake as programs rollout.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Two RSV preventive therapies: prenatal RSV vaccine (RSVpreF) and long-acting monoclonal antibody for infants (nirsevimab)
- Population
- Canadian expectant parents and parents of infants born in the past year (n=1,015; 49% expecting, 51% with recent births)
Key finding
72% overall acceptability for any RSV preventive product
Fitzpatrick et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 13 Jan 2026