CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Pediatricians in the Chicago area have bad news for parents when it comes to protecting infants from a potentially serious respiratory disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a shortage of Beyfortu, a vaccine to protect infants from RSV.
Dr. Jeffrey Loughead leads the pediatric program at Northwestern Medicine's Central DuPage Hospital.
“It’s substantially concerning,” Loughead said. RSV is very important infection for children, especially young children. Nearly everyone gets sick over the first two years of age, and about 2% of those infants end up in the hospital. While most of them will recover, it does represent a significant infection for them.”
The CDC has advised pediatricians and other healthcare providers to prioritize the vaccine for infants at the highest risk of developing severe cases of RSV.
“We’re only offering it to infants who have some significant complicating factor, like premature infants or those with cardiovascular or pulmonary disease that an infection by RSV would be substantially worse than average,” Loughead said.
Dr. Loughead said it's not clear when the supply of the vaccine will meet the demand from parents.
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