(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A local medical expert is weighing in on the new COVID vaccine approved this week by the FDA.
Dr. Nadia Qureshi, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with Loyola Medicine, says the shot is not a booster but rather an updated version of the vaccine to protect against variants circulating now.
She said immunity you had from previous vaccines may have worn off by now. The latest vaccine includes protection from the XBB.1.5 variant.
The variant isn’t parents' only worry, considering that RSV -- respiratory syncytial virus – surfaced around this time last year. And, of course, flu season is also arriving.
During last year’s “tripledemic,” Dr. Qureshi said she saw a child admitted to the hospital with four respiratory viruses at the same time.
They’ve already seen a handful of RSV patients at Loyola Medicine, she said, but nothing at the level of last year.
Parents looking for increased protection for infants should be able to get monoclonal antibodies that were approved by the CDC last month, Qureshi said.
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