Infants under 8 months: protection against RSV!
Now available: Immunization to protect babies from RSV, a yearly cold-like illness that is particularly serious in newborns and very young infants. Unlike other colds, it frequently goes to the chest, and because babies have tiny lungs they fill up with mucus quickly. They can have wheezing, labored breathing, pneumonia, or stop breathing. About 2/3 of babies catch it their first RSV season, approximately October through April. About 20% of these infants develop wheezing, and 2% of healthy, full-term babies are hospitalized and 6% of preterm infants, with the youngest at the highest risk. We all continue to catch RSV every year or two, but with fewer symptoms each time because of stronger immune systems and bigger lungs (until over 50, when it worsens again; people over 65 are also advised to get this immunization). This RSV immunization (Beyfortus) is different from vaccines in that it is actually an injection of antibodies against RSV. A single dose will circulate for at leas