Enlarge / An electron micrograph of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). (credit: Getty | BSIP)

The Food and Drug Administration issued the world’s first approval of a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an achievement that researchers have worked toward for decades after a catastrophic clinical trial in the 1960s.

The vaccine, called Arexvy from pharmaceutical giant GSK, is approved for adults aged 60 and over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will need to recommend the vaccine before it will be available for use. The agency’s advisory committee for immunizations is next scheduled to meet June 21 to 22 and could discuss the vaccine then.

RSV is a common, highly contagious seasonal respiratory infection. It’s often associated with infants, who are at especially high risk of developing severe disease. In fact, bronchitis from RSV infections is the leading cause of hospitalization among infants under the age of 1 in the US. But the virus is also dangerous for older adults, causing an estimated 60,000 to 160,000 hospitalizations and 6,000 to 10,000 deaths in older adults each year in the country.