BronchStart – The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Timing, Age and Severity of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Emergency Presentations, a Multi-Centre Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

The objective of this study is to monitor RSV disease in children under two years of age attending emergency departments across the UK and Ireland and examine the impact on timing, age and severity of clinical presentations as NPI restrictions are reduced throughout the UK and Ireland in 2021. The ability to track, anticipate and respond to a surge in bronchiolitis is critical for planning acute care delivery. There is an urgent need to understand the onset of RSV spread at the earliest opportunity. This will influence service planning, to inform clinicians whether the population at risk is a wider age range than normal, and whether there are changes in disease severity. This information is also needed to inform decision on the timing of passive immunisation of children at higher risk of hospitalisation, intensive care admission or death with RSV infection, which is a public health priority.

BronchStop – Study aims to estimate vaccine effectivnes (BE) of RSV maternal vaccination during pregnancy against RSV-associated hospitalisation, describe level of care, respiratory support, treatment modalities and frequencies among hospitalized cases and controls as well as predictors of maternal vaccine uptake.