Washington DC, United States: The RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, shot must be given to the infants who are at the highest risk of severe disease, informed the US Health Officials to the doctors. This statement has been released by the authorities after witnessing shortage in supply of new shots across the country.
On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through an advisory informed doctors that the infants, less than six (6) months, who are having chronic lung disease or other underlying conditions should be given priority.
According to various health experts, RSV can affect the respiratory system of a child and can cause coldlike disease that can be dangerous for young children. It is known as a season virus, which is widely reported in the southern part of the United States. The health authorities have outlined that there are chances that the virus will increase within the next month or two.
AstraZeneca and Sanofi’s Beyfortus
Beyfortus is a new and one-time shot developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Sanofi. The experts have suggested that it is a lab-made antibody that assists the immune system to fight against the virus.
The vaccine was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in the month of July and from August the CDC recommended the doctors to start prescribing it for infants born just before during the RSV season. The shot was also recommended for infants less than eight (8) months before the season starts.
In addition to this, the health authority also recommended dose for the babies between the age group 8 to 19 months old – who are at higher risk of a serious illness. The health experts have outlined that the larger and heavier infants must be given larger doses.
The shot comes in prefilled syringes, the ideal capacity of each dose is 50 milligrams or 100 milligrams.
Letter to the state immunization managers from CDC
The CDC has recently sent a letter to state immunization managers, through which it mentioned a temporary halt on vaccine orders for shots provided under a program that covers vaccinations for underprivileged and uninsured children. Additionally, on Monday, the CDC issued a broader notification to healthcare professionals across the United States.
Sanofi, through an official statement, outlined that the demand for the doses have been higher than anticipated.
Health officials are dealing with a problem because there aren’t enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for all eligible kids who need the larger ones. They also might not have many of the smaller doses for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season.
To make sure we don’t waste vaccines, the CDC says don’t give two smaller doses to bigger babies. This way, we can use our supplies wisely.
Some kids could use an older RSV medicine called palivizumab. But it needs a shot every month, and doctors should think about this when treating RSV.
Doctors are also telling pregnant women to get a new vaccine that keeps babies safe from RSV. When moms-to-be get this vaccine, it means newborns don’t need RSV antibody drugs, which makes healthcare better.
