New RSV shot could keep more kids out of North Texas hospitals this fall
LEWISVILLE (CBSNewsTexas.com) - Fall flu and virus season is right around the corner, but this year, a new drug to prevent RSV in infants could help keep more kids out of the hospital.
The respiratory illness is like a cold for most people.
"I'm talking sniffles, cough, fever, and a general feeling of malaise that lasts for about a couple weeks," said Dr. Oluwatoyin Abiodun, a neonatologist at Medical City Lewisville.
However, RSV can be serious – and even fatal – for babies.
An estimated 58,000 to 80,000 children under 5 years of age, most of them infants, are hospitalized each year nationwide due to RSV infection, with some requiring oxygen, intravenous (IV) fluids, or mechanical ventilation (a machine to help with breathing), according to the CDC.
"RSV is the leading cause of hospitalizations in the first year of life," said Dr. Abiodun. "So anything we can do to prevent that is obviously going to be huge."
Both the FDA and CDC recently signed off on a new antibody drug to help prevent severe RSV for all infants.
"We are very excited for this to be rolled out," Dr. Abiodun said. "It is certainly going to be a gamechanger."
This new drug, nirsevimab (trade name Beyfortus), isn't a vaccine, but a one-time shot of a long-acting monoclonal antibody infusion.
"So once it's given, it immediately helps prevent that infection from RSV," said Dr. Abiodun.
The virus typically starts circulating in the fall and peaks in the winter.
"Because RSV is spread in pretty much the same way as COVID, when we had those distancing measures, it seemed to have kept the RSV at bay," Dr. Abiodun said.
However, for the past two years, surges of the virus have overwhelmed North Texas hospitals.
"Given how prolific this disease is each season, that's a lot of kids that end up in the hospital, even in the ICU," said Dr. Nicholas Rister with the Cook Children's Infectious Disease team. "So if we could even cut that rate in half, that's a dramatic change of what we've seen year to year."
The new drug should help keep more babies home and healthy. According to the CDC, it has been shown to reduce the risk of both hospitalization and healthcare visits in infants by about 80 percent.
"That's going to be really beneficial for families, if kids are just not getting sick or not needing appointments and hopefully never having to come into the hospital, but also hospitals having more space to take care of patients and not being surged with yet another respiratory virus," Dr. Rister said.
The RSV shot is expected to be available this fall.
The CDC recommends:
- One dose for all infants 8 months old and younger born during or entering the RSV season (fall through spring)
- One dose for children between 8 and 19 months old who are at an increased risk of severe RSV, including severely immunocompromised childrenIt's recommended for all infants 8 months old and younger, or children between 8 to 19 months who are at an increased risk for the illness.
Families should talk with their pediatrician about the potential benefits.
