Wisconsin DHS urges pregnant individuals to get vaccinated after 3 children die, hundreds hospitalized from RSV

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- After three children died from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and hundreds of others under the age of two were hospitalized from the illness this season in Wisconsin, officials with the state Department of Health Services (DHS) are urging pregnant women to get vaccinated to protect their newborns.

Currently, only pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks' gestation, and adults ages 60 and over are eligible for the vaccine called Abrysvo, which was approved last year. 

DHS officials said more than 1,400 people had been hospitalized due to RSV this season in the state. Of those, 580 were young children.

According to Tom Haupt, a respiratory disease epidemiologist, the vaccine "provides protection to the infant for the first six months after they are born."

"That provides the baby protection at a time when they could be vulnerable to serious illness," Haupt said.

Symptoms can include coughing, sore throat, fever, and difficulty breathing.

In Wisconsin, about 3,500 people have been vaccinated against RSV, according to DHS Immunization Program Coordinator Stephanie Schauer.

For children younger than eight months and up to 19 months, a monoclonal antibody shot is recommended but Schauer said it's in short supply, which is why she encourages parents to get ahead of the virus.

"Their infant is protected from day one, and they don't have to search for a monoclonal antibody that may be in short supply or more difficult to find than them getting vaccinated themselves," Schauer said. "These have real, tangible results that protect the infant."

The agency also recommended everyone six months and older to receive the annual flu shot and the most recent COVID-19 vaccine as those are also prevalent this time of year.