Comparison of the Burden and Temporal Pattern of Hospitalisations Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Before and After COVID-19 in New Zealand.

COVID pandemic responses altered RSV-related hospitalisation seasonal patterns. Atypical features of RSV hospitalisation epidemiology were the increase in rates in older children and young adults, which lessened in 2022. Despite these variations, RSV hospitalisations in NZ continue to disproportionately affect individuals of Pacific ethnicity and those living in more socioeconomically deprived households. Whilst future public health strategies focused on RSV disease mitigation need to consider the potential shifts in epidemiological patterns when the transmission is disrupted, these variances must be considered in the context of longer-standing patterns of unequal disease distribution.