HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — “RSV seems to still continue to be a problem," said Dr. Sara Kirby, medical director for AdventHealth Tampa’s Pediatric Emergency Department.
RSV is one of the most severe diseases doctors see in infants — that’s why they were highly anticipating a new shot for babies.
“We have never had any sort of countermeasures before for RSV, and now we do,” said Dr. Michael Teng, virologist and associate professor for USF Health.
Unfortunately, the new medication for young children hasn’t been widely available.
The FDA approved Beyfortus over the summer. It’s a monoclonal antibody treatment given as a shot, used to prevent serious illness caused by RSV in babies under a year old.
Protecting young kids is critical.
“They don’t have any other protection. Maybe their mom has given them some antibodies either through pregnancy or through breast milk, but it’s not really enough for all those little kids to be protected against RSV,” said Teng.
The virus can cause severe respiratory issues.
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Dr. Christina Canody, medical director of the Pediatric Service Line for BayCare, said, “97% of all infants will have an RSV infection by the time that they’re two. About two-thirds of those happen in the first year of life.”
Recently, there’s been a rise in RSV cases locally, so doctors were hoping the new immunization would help prevent babies from being hospitalized.
“We’re seeing admissions in our hospital with younger children relying on oxygen for a few days,” said Kirby.
“The problem, too, is not just the disease itself. If you have severe RSV disease, you have long-term consequences for that. So you can have childhood wheezing, allergies, and asthma throughout childhood,” said Teng.
There are parents across Tampa Bay who haven’t been able to get the new shot for their kids.
“I’m just frustrated, and I don’t want anybody else to have to go through the same experience,” said a local mother.
ABC Action news interviewed one local mom who asked us not to share her name.
She’s been trying to get the injection for her infant daughter for months.
She told us she called pediatricians and pharmacists in Hillsborough County and was told the immunization wasn’t in stock. Then, she started contacting neighboring counties.
“Manatee, Polk, Pinellas, they all didn’t have it. Then I called the state health department,” said the mother.
They also couldn’t help. Her daughter recently contracted RSV and had to be hospitalized and put on oxygen.
“I guess I’m just kind of frustrated because it’s like had she been able to get it when I’d initially started looking for it, she would’ve been in much better shape whenever she did contract it,” she said.
Her story isn’t unique.
We’re told most local medical facilities don’t have much, if any, of the immunization.
The drug companies are trying to ramp up production to improve availability.
“The hope is that they can do this quickly because it is RSV season now so now is the really is when the demand is in terms of getting this for these infants,” said Dr. Laura Arline, chief quality officer for BayCare.
“We do have some limited doses throughout pediatric providers in the area, but not enough to meet demand this year. So I know that the companies that produce that are really looking towards the 2024 season now, which is a little disappointing,” said Canody.
The CDC recently announced more than 77,000 doses of Beyfortus will be distributed immediately.
However, doctors believe it’s still not enough.
In the meantime, they worry RSV will spread even more over the holidays because it’s highly contagious.
“RSV is a virus that can live on surfaces for up to 24 hours. So you don’t even realize that it’s there,” said Canody.
They recommend keeping young children at home if they’re sick and limiting direct, close contact with others.
“This is definitely the time of year that you’re not wanting to give all those cute new babies hugs and kisses. We don’t want to spread things around,” said Kirby.
