Peer-reviewed article
Parental intent to accept postnatal RSV monoclonal antibody immunisation for infants in the UK
J. Happenhofer, M. Carreno, Alexandre de Figueiredo ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study surveyed 12,326 UK parents in August–September 2024 about whether they would accept a free RSV monoclonal antibody injection for an infant through the NHS. Most parents were open to it, but only about half were firmly decided. Intent was somewhat lower in urban areas (especially London), among older parents, parents born outside the UK, and some ethnic minority groups. Belief that vaccines are safe and important, and trust in health workers, were the strongest predictors of intent. An embedded randomised trial found that telling parents the injection would be given shortly after birth lowered intent compared with the control.
Key points
- Estimated national intent was 88.8% (leaning towards or definitely intending to immunise), but only 54.0% expressed firm intent.
- Intent was slightly lower in urban areas, especially London, and among older parents, parents born outside the UK, and some ethnic minority groups.
- Belief in vaccine safety and importance, and trust in health workers, were strong positive predictors of intent.
- In the randomised trial, information that the mAb would be given shortly after birth reduced post-exposure intent relative to control.
- Timing, framing and communication matter for equitable uptake across groups.
Limitations
The survey measured hypothetical intent rather than actual uptake, and the abstract does not report results for all six trial arms. Only the abstract was available, so details on effect sizes, sampling and subgroup differences are missing.
Abstract
Abstract Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of infant morbidity and hospitalisation in the UK. Postnatal monoclonal antibody (mAb) immunisation can protect infants, but implementation depends on parental acceptance. We surveyed 12,326 UK parents of children under 18 years in August–September 2024, measuring intent to accept a hypothetical RSV mAb injection for an infant if free through the National Health Service. We estimated national and sub-national intent using multilevel regression and poststratification aligned to UK census data, assessed socio-demographic and behavioural determinants, and embedded an online randomised controlled trial in which a control arm received no additional timing or disease-burden information and six intervention arms varied this information. Estimated national RSV mAb intent was high, with 88.8% leaning towards or definitively intending to immunise, although only 54.0% expressed firm intent. Intent was slightly lower in urban areas, especially London, and among older parents, those born outside the UK, and some ethnic minority groups. Belief in vaccine safety, importance, and trust in health workers were strong positive predictors of intent. Information that the mAb would be administered shortly after birth reduced post-exposure intent relative to control, highlighting the importance of timing, framing, and communication for equitable uptake across groups.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Online messages giving information on the timing of the injection (shortly after birth) and on disease burden, with six variants compared against a control with no additional information
- Population
- UK parents of children under 18 years (survey sample of 12,326)
Key finding
Information that the mAb would be administered shortly after birth reduced post-exposure intent relative to control.
Happenhofer et al. · OpenAlex · 29 Sept 2026