The Daily Populous Saturday May 10th, 2025 night edition
Authored by arstechnica.com and submitted by ahothabeth

Far fewer babies went to the hospital struggling to breathe from RSV, a severe respiratory infection, after the debut of a new vaccine and treatment this season, according to an analysis published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

RSV, or respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants in the US. An estimated 58,000–80,000 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized each year. Newborns—babies between 0 and 2 months—are the most at risk of being hospitalized with RSV. The virus circulates seasonally, typically rising in the fall and peaking in the winter, like many other respiratory infections.

But the 2024–2025 season was different—there were two new ways to protect against the infection. One is a maternal vaccine, Pfizer's Abrysvo, which is given to pregnant people when their third trimester aligns with RSV season (generally September through January). Maternal antibodies generated from the vaccination pass to the fetus in the uterus and can protect a newborn in the first few months of life. The other new protection against RSV is a long-acting monoclonal antibody treatment, nirsevimab, which is given to babies under 8 months old as they enter or are born into their first RSV season and may not be protected by maternal antibodies.

incidental_findings on May 9th, 2025 at 14:30 UTC »

The number of parents who refused RSV prophylaxis for their newborn when I approached them for permission numbed me to the point of nearly giving up.

The most frequent reason for refusal was “It’s new”, even though it works the same way (monoclonal antibody) as the old Synagis/palivizumab shot that’s been around for years.

I know this is supposed to be Uplifting News, but I just felt like shaking parents and screaming “I JUST WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE HEALTHY, PLEASE LET ME HELP!”

I honestly felt immensely grateful (and surprised) when parents agreed.

Tremenda-Carucha on May 9th, 2025 at 14:20 UTC »

> When the researcher excluded data from NVSN's surveillance site in Houston—where the 2024–2025 RSV season started before the vaccine and treatment were rolled out—there was a 71 percent decline in hospitalizations in NVSN.

That's a huge drop in hospitalizations for newborns and infants, but I'm concerned about the rise in cases for older kids. It shows we need better protection for all age groups, not just the youngest ones.

avid-learner-bot on May 9th, 2025 at 14:19 UTC »

It's just... amazing how quickly we're turning things around and protecting the littlest ones, and seeing that when Houston's data is taken out, because, you know, their rollout was slow, we see hospitalizations dropping 71%, it really makes you stop and think, isn't it incredible how much of a difference a new vaccine can make in protecting our youngest?, it's just... wow.