RSV is in Full Swing – What You Can Do to Protect Your Child
Earlier this year, a new preventative treatment called BeyfortusTM was approved to help protect infants and young children from Respiratory Syncytial Virus, also known as RSV. Unfortunately, the supply for the new vaccine is extremely limited. Not just in Michigan – but throughout the United States.
Like other healthcare systems in Michigan, Bronson Healthcare and Bronson Children’s Hospital received only a small supply (about 10%) of what it predicted it would need to get through this RSV season, which typically runs from October to April.
To effectively manage its limited supply, Bronson is following a very robust process to identify the highest risk and most vulnerable patients, influenced by the most recent CDC recommendations of:
- Prioritizing doses for kids under 8 months old that are at particularly high risk
- Reserving a supply for older, high-risk children 8-16 months old
Infants considered high-risk for RSV can include those with:
- Prematurity (<35 weeks gestation)
- Severe immune problems
- Chronic lung disease
- Congenital heart disease
- Very poor growth
- Severe nerve/muscle weakness
So, what can you do if your kids don’t fall into these categories?
While there is not currently an alternative medication to Beyfortus, there is a preventative RSV vaccine (AbrysvoTM) that can be given to pregnant individuals who are 32 through 36 weeks pregnant which can help reduce a newborn’s risk of being hospitalized from RSV in the first six months after birth. There is no shortage of this RSV vaccine for pregnant patients.
Parents are encouraged to talk with their pediatrician about their child’s potential vulnerability, where they stand in meeting the priority criteria to receive the vaccine, and other ways to help prevent serious illness from RSV.
Bronson experts recommend you and your children stay home if you’re not feeling well, wash your hands regularly, get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines and avoid gatherings where you might be near sick people.
Following these measures won’t prevent all cases of RSV, however, they will decrease the chance that your baby or young child gets infected and will help reduce other winter viruses from spreading in our community.
