Northeast Ohio health officials are urging people to consider new vaccines that combat seasonal respiratory syncytial virus, commonly called RSV, as the Food and Drug Administration has approved several shots for infants and the elderly in recent months.
The vaccines are crucial to protect these two groups, said Erin Murphy, Lorain County Public Health's director of health promotion and chronic disease prevention.
"RSV typically causes mild symptoms in people" presenting cold-like symptoms, she told Ideastream Public Media. "But for older adults and also for babies and young children, it can be it can be severe."
The Food and Drug Administration approved Abrysvo Aug. 21, the first vaccine approved for use in pregnant individuals to prevent lower respiratory tract disease and severe lower respiratory infections caused by RSV in infants from birth through 6 months of age. Abrysvo is also approved for use at 32 through 36 weeks gestational age of pregnancy.
This is the latest approval of RSV vaccines, following on the heels of its July approval of Beyfortus, a vaccine intended for infants up to 24 months old. The agency also approved another RSV vaccine, Arexvy, in May for patients 60 years old and up.
The overall rate of RSV-related hospitalizations during the 2022-23 RSV season was 50.8 per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Cases spiked in Ohio from October to December, with the peak occurring in mid- to late November, according to CDC data. Cases were highest within the 0-4 age range, followed by those 65 and older.
About 600,000 children in the U.S. end up at the doctor's office or in the hospital for RSV every year, said Dr. Claudia Hoyen, director of pediatric infection control at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.
Widespread use of RSV vaccines could alleviate the burden on the health care system during the winter illness period, she previously told Ideastream Public Media. Hoyen said 2022's "tripledemic" strained the health care system with an influx of COVID-19, RSV and flu cases.
Murphy agreed, adding the vaccine is another way to combat seasonal respiratory ailments.
"Among the vaccines that may be available for eligible populations between RSV, the flu and COVID, it's an additional tool to help keep people protected and help prevent the spread," she said.
