CDC recommends babies receive RSV shot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week recommended all infants under eight months receive one dose of nirsevimab to prevent respiratory syncytial virus. The agency also recommended some older babies at increased risk receive a second dose of nirsevimab during their second RSV season. Approved last month by the Food and Drug Administration, the long-acting monoclonal antibody has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalizations and health care visits for RSV in infants by about 80%. Approximately 58,000 to 80,000 children under five years of age, most of them infants, are hospitalized each year in the U.S. due to RSV infection. (CDC news release, 8/3/23)