Babies can now receive the new RSV vaccine

Little Rock, Arkansas – RSV season is here, along with a new vaccination for young children.

Even though many families may find it unsettling, the new vaccination is already being utilized to help protect our children.

“We can do this one time and protect infants all the way through the RSV season,” said Dr. Josh Lyon with All For Kids Pediatric Clinic in Little Rock.

His desire to use the new RSV shot is strong.

“We’ve already started to see RSV starting to pick up and pick up through some of the daycares and the school settings. And so knowing that the hospitals are already dealing with it, knowing that we’re already starting to see families come in worried about it. I think we’re all really excited to see how this changes things this year,” he described.

Parents have been inquiring when their newborns can get the vaccinations, according to Dr. Lyon, even though All For Kids does not currently have them.

“The studies with this one show that about 80% of hospitalizations can be reduced by doing this vaccine,” he added.

However, this one differs from the other one in that it only requires a single injection and is accessible to all infants eight months of age and under, according to Dr. Lyon.

During RSV season, the last one needed a shot every month.

“Your high-risk kids will be able to do through a second season. So you’ve been through 19 months old. The previous one [was] expensive, time-consuming, difficult to do difficult to get. And so this will be I think, a much better solution,” he said.

Regarding RSV season, Dr. Lyon stated that as the weather becomes colder, he anticipates a surge in cases.

“With that, you’re seeing your youngest kids really affected, really winding up with more hospitalizations. And so I think that’s very much the expectation on everyone’s mind for this year, which is part of why we’re all so excited to have this option,” he explained.

To protect one of our most vulnerable populations, he referred to it as a game changer.

“We’re physically giving a child antibodies to fight off the infection, as opposed to their bodies having to make a new immune response, which is really cool,” he said.

Within the next week, Dr. Lyon anticipates receiving a batch of the doses.