![]() It’s a seasonal illness, typically starting in the fall and peaking in the winter. RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. What is RSV, and why is it a threat to some people? Roberts and Thomas Murray, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine pediatric infectious diseases specialist, answered questions about the coming options for older adults and kids. That vaccine still must be recommended by the CDC, and it’s unclear when it will become available.ĭr. The FDA also approved a vaccine for pregnant women that provides them with antibodies they could pass along to the fetus and protect their newborn babies from birth to 6 months of age from severe RSV. ![]() The CDC signed off on a monoclonal antibody called nirsevimab (brand name Beyfortus™) for all infants up to 8 months old, born during-or entering-their first RSV season, and for a small group during their second season who are between 8 and 19 months old and at high risk for severe disease (including children who are severely immunocompromised). This summer, the FDA also approved two options for infants and toddlers. In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approval of the two vaccines for older people, specifying that those ages 60 and older “may” get them based on “shared clinical decision-making,” meaning they may receive a single dose based on discussions with their health care provider about whether RSV vaccination is right for them. More people were becoming infected, probably as a result of more in-person, maskless contact, he adds. However, by November 2022, RSV was surging in children, and the RSV hospitalization rate for older adults was 10 times higher than usual for that time of year. Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic may have led to several years of lost immunity since RSV wasn’t really circulating during that time. Older people start to lose immunity as they age-they’re unable to fight off infections, such as RSV, as well as they did when they were younger, explains Dr. “Now, it looks as though we may have two vaccines for adults in time for the next RSV season-and there are more potential RSV therapeutics in the pipeline,” Dr. One turning point came with the investigation of an RSV protein called “RSV fusion (F)” that provided potent stimulation to the immune system-research that paved the way to clinical trials showing positive results. “There have been attempts to make a vaccine for decades, and they have failed for a variety of reasons.” “A lot is changing for RSV,” says Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist. But now, two new RSV vaccines aimed at older people and a monoclonal antibody for children up to age 2 could become available as soon as late summer or early fall. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes mild cold symptoms in most people but can lead to hospitalization and even death in older people and babies. This winter, when the usual sneezing, wheezing, coughing, and fevers start up, there will be extra protection for people at high risk from at least one common illness.
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