Special hospital clinics will be set up from this week to offer a new vaccine at 28 weeks of pregnancy to protect babies from a potentially deadly winter bug.

Around 30,000 children under five are rushed to hospitals across the UK every winter with RSV, a virus affecting 90 per cent of children under two which can cause severe lung infections including bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Around 30 babies die of RSV each year while others are left with lifelong complications.

Today, Public Health Midwife Joanna Melia of NHS Humber Health Partnership, said: “Getting the RSV vaccine means you’re protecting you and your baby from what can be very severe condition, particularly in infants under three months old.

“But you’re also doing the right thing for your friends, workmates and wider community by protecting hospital services this winter.

“Fewer cases of RSV means fewer hospital admissions – and that means more beds, staff and resources to save more lives.”

Clinics offering the RSV vaccine at 28 weeks of pregnancy will be held at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital in the Antenatal Department on Thursday mornings and Friday afternoons. They’ll also be offered at Castle Hill Hospital on Friday afternoons.

Appointments will be booked with your community midwife. You’ll also be able to book an appointment for the vaccine to protect you and your baby from whooping cough between 16 and 20 weeks into your pregnancy.

Andrew Gwynne, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, encouraged those eligible to take up the offer of the free vaccine after revealing his own family had been impacted by RSV.

“My own grandson contracted RSV when he was just days old, leading to weeks in intensive care and a lifelong impact on his health,” he said. “I don’t want anyone to go through what he went through.

“Not only will this vaccine save lives and protect the most vulnerable, it will help ease pressure on our broken NHS, freeing up thousands of hospital beds as we head into winter.”

People aged 75 to 79 years old by 1 September 2024 will also be invited to receive their RSV vaccination with their GP, and those turning 75 after this date will also receive an invitation from their GP once eligible.