'Very relieved:' First RSV vaccine administered in Australia

The first Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine has been administered in Australia, following the jab’s recent approval by the country’s medical watchdog.

Keith Forrest, 60, was the first person in the country to receive the shot in the clinic.

Forrest is awaiting a heart transplant and did not hesitate to get the vaccine to help combat the potentially deadly symptoms of RSV.

Forrest’s heart became damaged after he caught the flu in 2008 and he developed cardiomyopathy from the virus.

Forrest was the first person in the country to receive the shot in the clinic.

Forrest’s heart became damaged after he caught the flu in 2008 and he developed cardiomyopathy from the virus.

“I didn’t get the flu jab that year, ultimately that’s why I’m here now,” Forrest told 9News.

“(I’m) very relieved, very pleased I’ve got it done.”

“I think this will save many, many lives.”

Symptoms of RSV are similar to a common cold, however, it can be serious for babies, older Australians, and those with underlying health conditions.

“Every year there are well over 10,000 people hospitalised with RSV and sadly a proportion of those, well over 100 patients will die every year,” St Vincent’s Hospital Cardiologist Professor Jason Kovacic said.

“The vaccine is a breakthrough and I think everyone is widely expecting that within a decade, just like the flu vaccine, we’ll all be getting vaccinated against RSV.”

Australians over 60 are eligible to get the jab, with a private script setting them back between $200 and $300.

The protein-based vaccine is 82 per cent effective in preventing lower respiratory disease, and 94 per cent effective at preventing a significant lung infection.

Common side effects of the jab include redness and swelling at the spot of injection, muscle pain and fatigue.

Australians over 60 are eligible to get the jab, with a private script setting them back between $200 and $300.

The vaccine’s manufacturer is working to get the shot on the Government’s free National Immunisation Program.

The vaccine was approved in January.