Children's hospitals are overwhelmed by the high levels of RSV.

The CDC: A Study of COvid-19 Vaccines and Implications for Children and Adults in the U.S.

While updated booster shots designed to target the omicron variants are now widely available, the CDC estimates only about 13 to 15 million people have already gotten one, compared to the more than 200 million adults in the U.S. who have received their primary series of vaccinations.

“Our message is very simple: Don’t wait. Get vaccinated. Go get vaccinated now; get it before Halloween so you are ready before Thanksgiving and Chrismas and the holidays,” Jha said.

The White House has plans for a rise in COvid cases this winter as more people gather indoors in the US and Europe.

“When the pandemic hit the U.S. in March 2020, we saw the rates of all viruses plummet,” Dr. Vandana Madhavan, director of advanced pediatrics at Mass General Brigham in Boston, told NPR. That was largely due to people staying indoors, wearing masks and frequently washing or sanitizing their hands, she added.

According to a study released Friday by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the US Department of Health and Human Services, Covid-19 vaccinations led to nearly 700,000 fewer hospitalizations and up to 370,000 fewer deaths from the coronavirus last year.

The study looked at the data of 28.6 million older Americans and others that are in a Medicare fee-for-service health plan. There were data from the Omicron and Delta surge last year.

Covid-19 Vaccines for Infants and Under: Early Childhood Infections Can Cause Bronchitis and Pneumonia

“We hope that with this report we can continue to encourage Americans to get updated with their vaccinations and get us prepared for the fall and winter that’s coming,” Becerra said.

The administration urges people to buy the updated Covid-19 boosters for ages 12 and up. Moderna and Pfizer have requested US Food and Drug Administration authorization for the updated boosters for children as young as 5.

For a lot of young children, that’s not normal as they haven’t had that exposure at day care or in preschool. “They’re getting exposed and it’s hitting them very hard,” he said.

Nearly all children get an RSV infection by the time they are 2 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In most cases, it will cause mild, cold-like symptoms, much as it does in the vast majority of healthy adults. It can cause bronchitis and pneumonia in young children, particularly infants and those under the age of 5.

The onset of respiratory distress isn’t going to be a surprise, but there’s a reason for an increase in Europe’s infections

“We’ve been strapped, and hospitals have sort of been functioning at the edge of how they can function. According to Kalu, more and more people are requiring help and fewer beds are available. “This combo is going to cause more problems.”

Kalu said that if parents notice these symptoms of infection, in addition to a runny nose, a cough or a fever, they usually can be managed at home with attentive care.

“Parents should be really astute to any changes, like in their activity and their appetite, and then pay particular attention to any signs of respiratory distress,” Soni said.

The warning echoes that of some other experts who anticipate a rise in cases in the coming months, while other modelling suggests that infections will recede in the near future.

When it comes to Europe, we tend to precede them by about four to six weeks. “And so it stands to reason that as we get into November, December, maybe January, we are going to see an increase in infections across much of the country.”

Vaccines against New Variants and a Better Way to ‘Close’ the Immune System. The Good News about BA.5 or BA.2

There are at least three subvariants that we’re tracking very, very closely, all of which appear to have a lot more immune escape. Now, the good news about them is while they seem to do a better job of escaping immunity, they are derived from BA.5 or BA.2, its closely related cousin, and the new vaccines we have, which protect you against BA.5 should really continue to work really quite well against these new variants. We don’t have all the information. Obviously we’re studying that right now. One more reason for people to get the vaccine.

I encourage my family and friends to get it before Halloween. Go get it now. As you get into Thanksgiving, you’re going to have a high degree of protection, if you get it before Halloween. You know, you can’t time these things too tightly. My recommendation is to get it, go get it soon. And certainly get it before Halloween.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/13/1128519924/covid-cases-us-vaccine-holidays-white-house

When is it a good idea to swim? A few years ago Amber Sizemore had to go out of state to help her daughter get a flu shot

I would think I understand that fatigue. You know, we’re now at a point where COVID doesn’t have to rule our lives. We don’t have to take extraordinary precautions the way we did two years ago or even a year ago. majority of Americans now think this is a once-a-year shot For 20 years, I’ve gotten a flu shot. It’s not a big deal. I go get my flu shot every fall It protects me during the fall and winter. In terms of the vaccine, we are in a similar situation, where for a lot of Americans it is a once-a-year shot.

Now, let me be very clear, for some high-risk people — I think about my elderly parents who are in their 80s — they might need a shot more than once a year. They might need one again in the spring. But for a majority of people, we’re at a point where it’s a once-a-year shot, it’s not that inconvenient, not that big a deal, and it’s a great way to protect yourself.

When Amber Sizemore and her family went out of state to celebrate her birthday last week, she had hoped her toddler daughter, Raegan, would try swimming. But the 15-month-old, normally energetic and adventurous, wasn’t herself on Saturday.

Sizemore took her to urgent care and said that the respiratory syncytial virus, orRSV, was going around at Raegan’s day care, where he also works.

Raegan was admitted to the UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland after the staff saw her vitals. She needed the right amount of oxygen.

The State of Connecticut Children’s Hospitals During the Second RSV Shocks: How Many Pediatric Hospital Beds Have Been Used?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that most children catch the disease when they are two years old. Most adults who catch it have a mild illness; for those who are elderly or who have chronic heart or lung disease or a weakened immune system, it can be dangerous. But RSV can be especially tricky for infants and kids.

The US Department of Health and Human Services does not specify the reason for hospitalization, but about three-quarters of pediatric hospital beds available nationwide are being used now. By comparison, pediatric hospital beds were about two-thirds full on an average day over the past two years.

With the RSV surge, UH Rainbow Babies has had so many patients, it went on diversion for a couple of days in early October, meaning it couldn’t take external emergency admissions. It’s taking patients again now, but it’s still slammed with RSV cases.

There has been such such a dramatic increase in cases in Connecticut that Connecticut Children’s Hospital has been coordinating with the governor and public health commissioner to determine whether it should bring the National Guard in to expand its capacity to care for these young patients.

“I don’t know how but she slept with those ice packs on top of her,” Zoey Green said, holding an exhausted Lindy at the hospital. She said that they wanted to keep her hydrated so that she wouldn’t have to go back on an IV.

“We are very full, and our census numbers are pretty high as we work through kind of figuring out how to accommodate all of the sick kiddos in the community,” she said.

At UH Rainbow Babies, staff are hoping things don’t get much worse. “I mean, I hope we’re peaking right now, because if we’re not, then holy hell,” said Dr. Amy Edwards, associate medical director for pediatric infection control.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/21/health/rsv-hospitals-what-to-know-wellness/index.html

Keeping Kids at Home: What to Watch for if You’re Sick or Are You Sick? A Parent’s Guidebook to Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus

When everyone stayed home in 2020 and 2021 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, it seemed to change the typical RSV season. Case counts were low, and that created an “immunity gap.”

It’s generally such a mild illness that adults often don’t realize they have it, or they think it’s nothing more than a cold or allergies and go on to interact with others.

“It’s not a fatiguing virus the way influenza or Covid is, so you really do feel fine,” Edwards said. You kiss the baby because you feel fine, after your neighbor has that beautiful baby and you bring over a casserole. You don’t feel sick. And unfortunately, you pass it on to them, and sometimes they end up at the hospital.”

According to Davis, hand hygiene is the most important thing we can do to keep ourselves and others safe. She tells people to never touch their faces unless they recently washed their hands.

When kids or grownups are sick, they need to do one thing and one thing only, she said: “Stay home when you are sick so you won’t spread whatever respiratory illness you have.”

She said that she wanted other parents to be aware that they shouldn’t watch their child’s cough lightly. If we didn’t get Raegan help, this situation would have been much worse.

Like her peers across the country, the allergist and immunologist has been treating little ones with this cold-like virus well before the season usually starts.

Mora, a volunteer medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association, says it’s important for parents, caregivers and daycare workers to know what to watch for with RSV, which stands for respiratory syncytial virus. That way, they know whether a sick child can be treated at home or needs to go to a hospital.

When Cold Medicines Start to Swell, Kids Can Take a Backstab at their Brains, and What Happens When They Get Injured

On average, an infection lasts five days to a couple of weeks, and it will often go away on its own, the CDC says. Sometimes, the cough can last up to four weeks.

Parents should watch for any changes in behavior, she said, including taking longer to eat or not being interested in food at all. The child can also develop a severe cough and some wheezing.

It’s also important to watch for signs that your child is struggling to breathe or breathing with their ribs or belly – “symptoms which may kind of overlap with many of the other viruses that we’re seeing a resurgence of,” Soni added.

Talk to your doctor before giving your child any over the counter cold medicines since they can contain ingredients that aren’t good for kids.

There are two major trouble signs with a respiratory tract problem, according to CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen. The other is dehydration. Babies with a stuffy noses are likely to be affected. They might not be getting enough food.

They may need to have a tube inserted into their lungs. A kid can get extra oxygen through a mask, tube or other method. Some children may need to use an oxygen tent. Those who are struggling a lot may need a ventilator.

Questions about the Influence of COVID-19 on the Pediatric Immune Response to the Respiratory Staphvirus (RSV)

But just how concerned should parents be? Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the RSV infection, who is most at risk and what might be causing this year’s outbreak.

While it may be too early to know for sure, health experts agree that the earlier-than-usual surges are a consequence of the broad lifting of COVID-19 precautions, which served to protect the public from a variety of viruses.

“My hope is that this is not the new normal,” Madhavan said on Friday. It is not good because we don’t know what we’re going to see as we head deeper into fall and especially this winter.

The problem is that their small lungs and muscles can’t muster up the power to cough up or sneeze out the increased secretions and mucus caused in their airways.

“They have a hard time getting out that excess fluid and it puts them in a bad position when it comes to drinking and eating,” he said.

Keeping hands away from the face and staying hydrated can help stopRSV, which can be serious, health officials say.

She suggested not being shy about grilling others about how they’ve been feeling. A lot of the time when people are asked that, the person on the other end does not think to mention that they have had a cold, even if they have been sick. But that could become a serious case of RSV for an infant or a toddler, she added.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/02/1133040571/rsv-questions-answers-treatment-options

Treatment options for high-risk infants with influenza: Questions-answers and recommendations for potential at-home treatments of severe RSV disease

The flu vaccine can be given to anyone over six months old. It takes a few weeks for the shot’s full protection to take effect. “If a child is under eight and has never gotten influenza vaccine before, they need two doses one month apart before getting full protection two weeks after that second dose,” she added.

There is, however, a treatment called palivizumab that is available to high-risk infants. It is an injection that can be given to premies and other babies born with certain lung or heart conditions who are at high risk for severe RSV disease. It is given once a month during the season.

It doesn’t help the immune system make longer term immune protection, but it can be given to high-risk children to give them more protection, which is why it is called a vaccine.

Still, Madhavan stressed, palivizumab is not routinely given to all children. There are some potentially serious side effects of the drug that include swelling of the throat, breathing problems, weakness of the muscles, and unresponsiveness.

“If you think you or your child has it, it’s best to pick up the phone and call your doctor or nurse rather than coming into a setting that might mean a long wait or might mean exposure to other viruses that your child and family don’t have and can have risks on their own,” she said.

Madhavan said that in most cases, health care professionals can go through a checklist of warning signs and make suggestions for potential at-home treatments.