RSV on the rise, doctors provide information on getting vaccinated

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - This time of year, keeping your kids safe from viruses is a top priority for parents. 

Last month, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital treated 105 pediatric patients for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), but doctors say parents shouldn't panic and say the numbers are simply a sign RSV season is here.

This year’s cold and flu season will be the first time ever that people 60 and over and pregnant women can get a vaccine to protect against RSV. 

Older people are eligible for the RSV vaccine.

It'll also be the first time infants can take medication to protect against RSV. Dr. Juan Dumois, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, walked through the utility of the vaccine.

"What the vaccine does and the other treatments do is to make it less likely that your RSV makes you sick enough to end up in the hospital because once you're in the hospital with RSV, you tend to be there for days needing oxygen until you start to get better," Dr. Juan Dumois said. 

READ: CDC has stopped printing COVID-19 vaccination cards

Newborns, premature babies, and babies 6 months or younger are some of the most vulnerable groups more likely to develop severe RSV infection. 

Babies are the most at risk for severe infection.

Common symptoms of RSV include congestion, runny nose, cough, sore throat, and fever.

"Because an adult's airway may be this big and a child's airway is about that big. The same amount of swelling causes more obstruction of that pipe. And therefore being smaller increases your risk that you're going to plug that pipe and not be able to breathe," Dumois said.

Currently, there is no FDA-approved RSV vaccine for infants, but there is medication. It’s called Nirsevimab sold under the brand name Beyfortus. 

READ: Climbing stairs may lower heart disease risk, study finds

As Dr. Juan Dumois explains, infants will typically just get one injection that can offer protection for up to two years. According to the CDC in clinical trials, one dose reduced the risk of severe RSV by 80% over a five-month period. 

"This medication by Fortis does not stimulate your immune system. It gives you that immunity that would normally, with a vaccine, would have been provided by the means. It gives you that immunity immediately as soon as it's injected," Dumois said.

CVS and Walgreens have both said they do have the vaccine available for people 60 and over. CVS said the vaccine for pregnant women will be available soon. 

Also, the medication Beyfortus for infants should be available sometime in October. If you’re interested in getting that medication for your newborn or infant, be sure to consult with your primary care doctor.