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Home\Blog\Media centre\GenV Helps Make Vaccines Safer for Babies Home GenV Helps Make Vaccines Safer for Babies GenV Helps Make Vaccines Safer for Babies RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus is a common virus that spreads easily. It can cause serious illness in babies and young children. Each year, over 1,000 babies under 2 years of age in Australia go to hospital with RSV. Some need intensive care. Since February 2025, pregnant women can get a new vaccine to help protect their babies from RSV. This vaccine helps mothers pass on protective antibodies to their babies before birth. It’s a big step forward in keeping little ones safe. But how do we know vaccines given in pregnancy are safe? That’s where GenV helps. GenV is Australia’s largest child and parent research project. It is also the most inclusive. Families from all communities are taking part. So, we can start to ensure findings from research are relevant to more families. About 50,000 children and their families have joined so far. With so many people involved, researchers can look for trends and patterns, which is not often possible with smaller studies. Professor Jim Buttery from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) told ABC Radio that GenV is providing researchers the ability to confidently look for any health effects in babies’ early years after vaccines given in pregnancy, like early birth, allergies and developmental milestones. Because so many families are part of GenV, it’s easier to spot these patterns and understand vaccine safety over time. RSV vaccines in pregnancy are also being monitored by the statewide Vaccine Safety Health Link in Victoria by MCRIs Epidemiology Informatics group. GenV supports researchers by: Safely collecting health and birth data Tracking children’s growth and development Helping answer important health questions more quickly Families in GenV are helping researchers and clinicians learn how to keep parents and children healthy – now and in the future. Listen to the full episode: ABC Health Report Article by Michelle Barnett Share this article: