US - Children’s hospitals call on Biden to declare emergency in response to ‘unprecedented’ RSV surge

[Mary Wilson]

EU Approves First Monoclonal Antibody To Prevent RSV In All Children As U.S. Cases Surge


Madeline Halpert
Former Staff
Nov 4, 2022,03:00am EDT


Nov 4, 2022,03:00am EDT

Madeline Halpert

The European Commission on Friday approved the first monoclonal antibody to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among all infants and newborns, amid a rise of cases of the highly contagious virus, which can pose a danger to infants and older adults.


KEY FACTS

• The European Commission approved Beyfortus, an injection manufactured by AstraZeneca and Sanofi to be given to infants from birth through their first RSV season—which typically begins in late fall—to protect against the virus, which is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections like bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants.
• It’s the first regulatory body to approve the injection, basing its decision on clinical trial results, which showed Beyfortus was safe compared to a placebo and reduced the incidence of lower respiratory tract infections caused by RSV by 74.5%, according to the pharmaceutical companies.
• The approval marks a “significant achievement for the scientific community” to address a “persistent, global unmet need in RSV prevention, Iskra Reic, the executive vice president of vaccines and immune therapies at AstraZeneca, said in a statement.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelin...h=5e8c7c777da5

[sharon sanders]

Children’s hospitals call on Biden to declare emergency in response to ‘unprecedented’ RSV surge


PUBLISHED FRI, NOV 18 20228:52 AM EST
UPDATED FRI, NOV 18 20226:30 PM EST

• The Children’s Hospital Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics told the Biden administration that “unprecedented levels” of RSV combined with increasing flu circulation are pushing some hospitals to the breaking point.
• They asked the federal government to declare an emergency to provide hospitals with added flexibility to meet the surge.
• Infants 6 months and younger are getting hospitalized with RSV at seven times the rate observed before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2018, according to CDC data.

more....

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/18/biden-asked-to-declare-emergency-over-rsv-flu-kids-hospitalizations.html

[sharon sanders]

CDC RSV-NET Interactive Dashboard

https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/research/rsv-net/dashboard.html