"Since they debuted in 2023, the preventativesa vaccine for pregnant people and an antibody shot for newbornshave reduced hospitalizations of the youngest babies by up to half. That's amazing, says Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. It actually caused a slight decrease in the infant mortality rate in this country, a figure that wasn't more dramatic mainly because RSV is responsible for a small proportion of infant deaths relative to other causes."
"While pregnant with her third child last year, Alison Carroll pondered options that hadn't been available during her first two pregnancies: not one but two ways to help prevent her newborn from ending up in the hospital, fighting for breath because of a severe infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A pediatric hospitalist herself, she already had for years witnessed and treated the worst of RSV's ravages in children,"
Alison Carroll, a pediatric hospitalist who previously treated severe RSV cases and whose daughter Stella was hospitalized for RSV, chose one of two newly available preventive options while pregnant with her third child. Since 2023, a maternal vaccine and an antibody shot for newborns have reduced hospitalizations of the youngest babies by up to half. Paul Offit notes the interventions caused a slight decrease in the infant mortality rate, with the modest change reflecting RSV's relatively small share of infant deaths. Respiratory syncytial virus remains the leading cause of hospitalization among infants, with newborns up to two months at highest risk.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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