A wave of the highly contagious respiratory syncytial virus is beginning to wash over the United States \u2014 sending greater numbers of babies and toddlers to the hospital, recent data show. <\/p>\n
The onset of RSV comes as the country heads into the wider fall-and-winter respiratory virus season, also typically marked by increased circulation of ailments such as COVID-19 and the flu. But RSV, the leading cause of infant hospitalization nationwide, presents particular risk for the youngest babies, a major reason health experts recommend pregnant women either get vaccinated near their delivery date or immunize their newborns. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the perfect time to get your vaccine for RSV if you have never gotten one,\u201d the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement to The Times.<\/p>\n
RSV can spread through coughs or sneezes but also by touching<\/a> a contaminated surface, such as a door handle, and then touching your face before washing your hands, health officials warn. <\/p>\n For the week ending Oct. 11, about 1.2% of emergency room visits nationwide among infants younger than 1 were due to RSV \u2014 up from 0.4% a month earlier, according to data posted by PopHIVE<\/a>, a project led by the Yale School of Public Health. <\/p>\n \u201cAn RSV wave is starting to take hold,\u201d epidemiologists Katelyn Jetelina and Hannah Totte wrote in the blog<\/a> Your Local Epidemiologist.<\/p>\n RSV can be dangerous for infants, older adults and people with certain medical conditions, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RSV can cause pneumonia, as well as a severe inflammation of the lungs\u2019 small airways, known as bronchiolitis, the California Department of Public Health said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe issue with kids is that their airways are so small that when it causes inflammation in the airways, it\u2019s just very hard to breathe,\u201d said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert. \u201cSo they come in with wheezing … and that\u2019s why they get into trouble.\u201d <\/p>\n Nationally, RSV kills up to 300 children under age 5 annually, and can send up to 80,000 to the hospital. Among seniors age 65 and older, the virus can cause up to 10,000 deaths in a typical year and as many as 160,000 hospitalizations, according to the CDC<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s been kind of invisible, mainly because until recently … people wouldn\u2019t test \u2014 we couldn\u2019t test for RSV until the age of molecular diagnostics,\u201d Chin-Hong said. \u201cSo it has been kind of an invisible epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n RSV is \u201ckind of a bronze medalist of respiratory viruses, with COVID and influenza No. 1 and No. 2, duking it out, and RSV is No. 3 for older adults,\u201d he added. In general, RSV is the first to emerge during the fall-and-winter virus season, followed by flu then COVID, Chin-Hong said. <\/p>\n Before immunizations became available, about 2% to 3% of young infants were hospitalized<\/a> for RSV annually<\/a>, according to the CDC. Most children who are hospitalized for acute respiratory disease caused by RSV were previously healthy, according to a study published by the journal Pediatrics<\/a>. <\/p>\n They may require oxygen or intravenous fluid or even be put on a ventilator to help them breathe, according to the CDC. <\/p>\n Unlike the flu and COVID-19, there are no antiviral drugs to treat RSV once infection sets in. <\/p>\n For now, the combined activity<\/a> of respiratory illness from RSV, flu and COVID-19 is considered \u201cvery low\u201d in California, state health officials said. <\/p>\n But \u201cwe are starting to see the beginnings of respiratory virus season,\u201d the L.A. County Department of Public Health said. <\/p>\n Health officials in Santa Clara County, Northern California\u2019s most populous, are already reporting \u201cmedium\u201d levels of RSV in the wastewater of San Jos\u00e9, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. <\/p>\n Now is exactly the time to get vaccinated if you haven\u2019t already \u2014 \u201cespecially before respiratory virus activity potentially increases later,\u201d said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the Orange County health officer. <\/p>\n RSV immunizations are recommended for pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks of gestational age \u2014 about one to two months before their estimated delivery date \u2014 as well as for everyone age 75 and up and those age 50 to 74 with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, weakened immune systems, asthma or heart disease. Vaccines are also recommended for individuals who live in a nursing home or long-term-care facility. <\/p>\n If a pregnant woman wasn\u2019t vaccinated against RSV, officials recommend her infant get immunized. <\/p>\n RSV vaccinations are fairly new, being introduced in 2023. There are now three brands<\/a> \u2014 Pfizer\u2019s Abrysvo and GSK\u2019s Arexvy were licensed in May 2023, and Moderna\u2019s mResvia in June 2024. All three can be used for older adults, but only the Pfizer vaccine<\/a> is available for pregnant women. <\/p>\n Infants were also able to get immunized<\/a> starting that year through monoclonal antibodies, which aren\u2019t technically vaccines but function similarly in this case. <\/p>\n Older adults who already received an RSV vaccination generally don\u2019t need to get another one.<\/p>\n The arrival of those vaccines followed a particularly brutal 2022-23 respiratory virus season when California was slammed by a hospital-straining \u201ctripledemic\u201d of RSV, flu and COVID. <\/p>\n Unlike the RSV shots, flu and COVID vaccinations are generally recommended ahead of every fall-and-winter virus respiratory season. Older adults, those age 65 and up, can get the COVID vaccination every six months, according to the California Department of Public Health. <\/p>\n People can get the RSV, flu and COVID vaccinations all during the same visit to a healthcare provider, Chinsio-Kwong said. <\/p>\n \u201cReceiving all eligible vaccines at once is considered best practice, as it helps avoid missed opportunities due to scheduling challenges,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Studies have shown the RSV immunizations are effective. <\/p>\n During last year\u2019s respiratory virus season, there were significant reductions in the RSV hospitalization rate for babies, data show<\/a>. Data also show RSV vaccines were effective<\/a> in preventing symptomatic illness in older adults.<\/p>\n Chin-Hong said he suggests \u201ceveryone should get it\u201d if they are 75 or older, and for those between age 50 and 74 with heart or lung disease or are very immune compromised, \u201cI think the juice is worth the squeeze.\u201d<\/p>\n Annual routine flu vaccines are recommended for everyone who is at least 6 months old. <\/p>\n As for COVID, a vaccine can be given to anyone who wants one. The California Department of Public Health specifically recommends<\/a> the shots for everyone age 65 and up, babies age 6 months to 23 months, children and teenagers who have never been vaccinated, and people with certain health risk factors and those in close contact with them.<\/p>\n The California Department of Public Health also recommends pregnant women get the COVID vaccination. <\/p>\n After concerns earlier this season about how difficult it might be to get COVID vaccinations, pharmacists and California health officials now say securing the shots is relatively easy.<\/p>\n The controversy arose in the late summer amid confusing guidance coming from agencies overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has disparaged vaccinations. <\/p>\n There was a period during which the Food and Drug Administration had belatedly approved COVID-19 vaccines only for those age 65 and up and younger people with underlying health conditions. An unprecedented delay in the CDC issuing its own recommendations had the effect of snarling vaccinations for many. <\/p>\n