atlanta —Lucas Cerna’s mother is giving him a Respiratory syncytial virus shot while your pediatrician still has it in stock.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of things on the news, and babies get sick a lot, so I thought, I better do it,” Cerna’s mother, Alexandra Perez, told CBS News.
The Beyfortus antibody injection, manufactured by pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Sanofi, It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July as a way to prevent RSV in infants and children up to 24 months.
Demand of The shooting was unprecedented. It’s so popular that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that pediatricians like Dr. Jennifer Shu at Children’s Medical Group in Atlanta only give it to their most vulnerable patients, which include babies under six months and those with underlying conditions. that put them at risk.
“We hope it will really reduce hospitalizations, as well as complications like pneumonia or even death,” Shu said, adding that Georgia is still seeing cases rising and has almost no vaccines.
According to the CDC, parts of the southern US have seen an increase in RSV transmission in recent months. Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, reported Friday that more than 200 of its patients tested positive for RSV last week.
Symptoms of RSV include high fever, worsening cough, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms can lead to hospitalization and even death.
“Their immune systems are not yet developed,” Shu explained why babies are so vulnerable to RSV. “…The second thing is that their airways are a little smaller.”
Chris Comstock’s 20-month-old daughter Adilynn contracted RSV in September. She spent nine days fighting for her life at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta hospital.
“I just remember my wife and I standing in the hospital room crying and wondering, ‘What are you doing?'” Comstock said. “I have no control, sitting in that hospital room, knowing I can’t do anything to help my daughter. And then watching her walk and run and get healthy again. You can’t put a price on the gratitude we have.”
