New respiratory syncytial virus immunization products in low- and middle-income countries: potential for cost-effective impact on a high burden of disease in young infants

As new, efficacious respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization products reach the market, affordable pricing as well as improved estimation of disease burden and the full potential and cost effectiveness of RSV prevention in the hardest hit geographies in low- and middle-income countries are critical to inform country adoption and enable maximum impact against infant disease and mortality globally. The data reported in the special issue underscore the enormous burden, and associated cost, of RSV disease in young infants in several LMICs, including Kenya and South Africa, as well as the potential for RSV maternal vaccines or long-acting monoclonal antibodies, to be cost-effective and possibly even cost-saving.