NORFOLK, Va. — Just in time for the fall season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a newly-approved respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for infants and babies.
For most people, RSV causes mild cold symptoms, but it can be dangerous for infants and babies, landing nearly 60,000 in the hospital each year.
Pediatric Infectious Disease Doctor Laura Sass with Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) saId the shot, an antibody immunization, is strong enough to work right away.
"A vaccine is something designed for your body to make its own antibodies to.", Dr. Sass explained. "So, when we get the tetanus shot or the polio ones — all of those — you've never seen it before, so the body has a chance to make its own immunity."
Dr. Sass said the pandemic shifted the typical RSV season, bringing increased cases in the summer month, but there was no spike this summer. The new single dose shot should make a big difference from this point on.
"In the winters, this is one of the biggest reasons why kids get admitted to the hospital," she said. "It causes babies to have something called Bronchiolitis, which makes it hard for them to breathe. It makes them breathe fast and some of them get sick enough where they have to go to the intensive care unit."
In June, the CDC endorsed the RSV vaccine for adults over 60. Pfizer is also working on a vaccine for pregnant women, who could then pass RSV antibodies to their babies.