Sci Am | C Vercesi
Since they debuted in 2023, the preventatives—a vaccine for pregnant people and an antibody shot for newborns—have reduced hospitalizations of the youngest babies by up to half…. Although the infant mortality rate is low, respiratory syncytial virus is the leading cause of hospitalization among infants in the U.S., with newborns up to the age of two months being at the highest risk, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 60,000 to 80,000 children under age five are hospitalized with RSV every year in the U.S., and an estimated 100 to 300 children in that age group die annually.