Prevent hospitalization from RSV this season
9/11/2024 by Robert Jacobson, M.D.
RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus. It's the most common cause of hospitalization in children under 5 years old in the U.S. And older at-risk adults hospitalized for RSV have worse outcomes than older adults hospitalized for flu or COVID.
Every family should consider their loved ones at risk and act this season.
All adults 75 years and older are at risk, and they should get a dose of the RSV vaccine if they have not already. The best time to get the vaccine is September or October before the next RSV season starts for our region in November.
Other adults at risk should all get one dose of the vaccine if they have not already. Risks include:
- Lung disease.
- Heart and blood vessel diseases.
- Moderate or severe immune compromise.
- Diabetes mellitus with end-organ damage.
- Neurologic or neuromuscular conditions causing impaired airway clearance or respiratory muscle weakness.
- Advanced chronic kidney disease.
- Liver disorders.
- Blood disorders.
- Severe obesity.
- Frailty.
- Residence in a nursing home or other long-term care facility.
- Other chronic medical conditions that a clinician determines would increase the risk of severe disease due to respiratory infection.
Pregnant individuals during the months of September through January who are 32 to 36 weeks gestation should get the RSV maternal vaccine (Abryvso) if they have not already in a previous pregnancy.
Babies born who did not benefit from maternal vaccination should get a dose of RSV immunoglobulin called nirsevimab (Beyfortus) between the months of October and March. All infants less than 8 months old during these months who did not get a birth dose should get one dose for this season during October through March.
Older infants 9 through 19 months of age at risk for RSV hospitalization should get the immunoglobulin, too. Risks include:
Infants born to immunocompromised pregnant people.
Infants born to pregnant people who have medical conditions associated with reduced transplacental antibody transfer.
Infants who have undergone cardiopulmonary bypass or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, leading to loss of maternal antibodies.
Infants with substantially increased risk for severe RSV disease.
If you’re not sure if you or your family members should receive the RSV vaccine this season, reach out to your primary care clinician.
Robert M. Jacobson, M.D., is the medical director of the Primary Care Immunization Program in Southeast Minnesota. He is a physician in Community Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and practices in the Baldwin building.