Dear Provider,
The nirsevimab (Beyfortus, Sanofi and AstraZeneca) product will be available for ordering through the State Vaccine Program effective immediately and can be administered to all children regardless of insurance status.
Nirsevimab is a newly licensed, injectable monoclonal antibody product that helps protect infants and young children from lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently recommended that all infants younger than 8 months of age who are born during or are entering their first RSV season should receive one dose of nirsevimab. Additionally, a dose of nirsevimab is recommended for some children aged 8 through 19 months old who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease when entering their second RSV season. The following children aged 8 through 19 months are recommended to get a dose shortly before or during their second RSV season: 1) American Indian/Alaska Native children, 2) children with chronic lung disease of prematurity who required medical support during the six months before the start of their second RSV season, 3) children with severe immunocompromise, 4) children with severe cystic fibrosis. Children ages 8 months and older who are not at increased risk of severe RSV disease should not receive nirsevimab. Published guidance on the use of nirsevimab to prevent RSV disease in infants and young children can be found here. Additionally, please refer to the MCAAP clinical resource packet for additional clinical information about nirsevimab.
When your site orders nirsevimab for the first time, you will need to click the “Add a Vaccine” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the ordering page, to add the formulation to your ordering table. Please contact the Vaccine Management Unit at 617-983-6828 or dph-vaccine-management@mass.gov with any questions regarding the enrollment process or how to add nirsevimab to a vaccine order.
Nirsevimab is an expensive immunization and thus the Vaccine Management Unit encourages providers to follow the below guidance to reduce the likelihood of restitution being requested:
- Be conservative with your ordering pattern. Order minimal doses at a time to ensure that all doses can be utilized prior to expiration.
- Rotate stock of nirsevimab in your storage units to ensure the doses received first are the doses administered first.
- Closely monitor the temperatures within your vaccine storage unit to ensure that the vaccines are not exposed to a temperature excursion.
- If a temperature excursion does occur, please complete the Temperature Excursion Reporting Form as soon as possible, to determine viability of impacted doses.
As a reminder, the new RSV vaccines for adults, Arexvy (GSK) and Abrysvo (Pfizer), will NOT be made available by the State Vaccine Program, and therefore will not be orderable in the MIIS. Providers who would like to make these vaccines available to adult patients in their practices should privately order via their usual vaccine ordering channels.
