"The real burden of RSV is not highlighted well, because we focus on respiratory cases, not on the complications that follow."
In this expert interview, Dr. Marco Del Riccio, Public Health Physician and researcher at the University of Florence, makes a compelling case that RSV is a multisystem disease and that cardiologists, geriatricians, and policymakers need to pay attention.
The evidence is striking: up to one in three older adults hospitalized with RSV who have pre-existing cardiovascular disease go on to experience a major cardiac event. RSV is not simply pneumonia; it is a trigger for heart failure, ischemic events, and other serious complications in an aging population that is growing more complex and more vulnerable every year.
Marco argues that this means we need to fundamentally reframe how we talk about vaccination in later life. Rather than framing it as preventing a single virus, we should anchor the conversation to healthy aging, the evidence now shows that immunization in later life fine-tunes and helps maintain immune resilience and protects against a cascade of downstream events.
He also makes a practical point for clinicians: how you recommend a vaccine matters enormously. Providers who say "it's your choice" see lower uptake than those who say "this is recommended for you, and here's why." Confidence in the recommendation is itself part of the intervention.
Key takeaway: Vaccination protects far more than the respiratory system and the way we communicate that recommendation shapes whether people take it up.
