Sacramento-area children's health expert discusses "rocky rollout" of RSV vaccine
SACRAMENTO — Each year in the United States, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) leads to the hospitalization or even death of children younger than 5 years old.
We are in peak RSV season and doctors say cases continue to rise.
A recently approved vaccine was supposed to protect babies from RSV, but a nationwide shortage is leaving some healthcare providers, including in Northern California, without critical doses.
"It's been a little bit of a rocky rollout because there hasn't been enough of the vaccine available," said Dr. Dean Blumberg, professor and chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health.
For children under 2 years of age, RSV can be a dangerous and sometimes deadly disease.
"About two to three kids per hundred end up being hospitalized for this every year," Dr. Blumberg said.
That includes children like 20-month-old Adilynn, who got RSV in September. For dad, Chris Comstock, it was a terrifying nine days in the hospital as she fought for her life.
"I just remember my wife and I were standing in the hospital room crying, going 'What are you…what do you do?' I have zero control sitting in that hospital room, knowing I can do nothing to help my child."
While Adlilynn recovered, that isn't the case for some children.
According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 58,000-80,000 hospitalizations and around 100–300 deaths due to RSV in children under the age of 5 annually.
That's why the FDA approved the RSV vaccine late this summer, but the CDC recommendations for the use of the vaccine came even later.
Now in peak RSV season – and with demand far outpacing supply – many concerned parents are questioning how best to protect their babies.
"Make sure your child is not around people who are obviously sick or who are symptomatic with fever, cough, runny nose," Dr. Blumberg said. He later added, "Even if your kid has RSV and has already had RSV, you can get it twice in the same season."
While the pediatric dose is in short supply, that is not the case for women who are pregnant and seeking their RSV shot. So Dr. Blumberg recommends that pregnant women who are early in the third trimester during RSV season get their vaccine.
"If you want to get vaccinated during pregnancy, that's an excellent way to protect the newborn child because the antibodies that the mom develops get passed on to the newborn child," he said.
Dr. Blumberg is hopeful next year's vaccine roll-out will be less painful.
"Next year, I would hope that it would be smoother and all these issues should be smoothed out, and the vaccine will be more routine just like other vaccines that are administered through childhood," he said.