- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
- Vaccine Products
What are the two RSV vaccines and how are they different?
In May 2023, FDA licensed two RSV vaccines: RSVPreF3 (Arexvy, GSK) and RSVpreF (Abrysvo, Pfizer). They are both licensed for the prevention of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) in adults 60 age years and older in the United States. Only Abrysvo is licensed for use during pregnancy (during 32 through 36 weeks and 6 days’ gestation) for the prevention of RSV disease in infants. Both vaccines are recombinant protein vaccines that contain the prefusion form of a spike protein on the surface of the RSV virus. Because these vaccines contain only a piece of the virus, they cannot cause RSV illness.
The GSK RSVPreF3 vaccine, Arexvy, includes an AS01adjuvant, a chemical designed to enhance the immune response to vaccination. AS01 is the same adjuvant used in GSK’s recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix), but Arexvy contains half the amount of adjuvant as a dose of Shingrix. Pfizer’s vaccine does not contain an adjuvant.
For further information about both vaccines, the package inserts are available from FDA: Package Insert – AREXVY (fda.gov) and Package Insert – ABRYSVO (fda.gov).