Oct. 24, 2023 – A limited supply of a drug to guard infants from the respiratory disease RSV has led to this the CDC issue a health warning.
Officials are advising pediatricians to make use of specific doses of nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody sold under the brand name Beyfortus, in infants who’re most vulnerable to developing severe respiratory syncytial virus.
As cold and flu season began, parts of the country saw a spike in RSV cases.
“The shortage is quite disheartening,” said Dr. Scott Roberts of Yale School of Medicine The Washington Post. “I was hoping that we would learn lessons from COVID where we foresee these challenges [because] It appears this was an avoidable shortage that we should have anticipated demand.”
This was announced by the drug manufacturer Sanofi post It is attempting to speed up delivery with its manufacturing partner AstraZeneca.
RSV is extremely contagious and primarily affects the respiratory tract, particularly within the elderly, young children and folks with weakened immune systems.
The FDA approved Beyfortus to be used in young children in July. It is a single shot and might be given to children younger than 8 months and as much as 24 months who’re at biggest risk of a serious RSV infection post reported.
It is obtainable in doses of fifty and 100 milligrams, depending on the kid's age and weight. The CDC left the 50-milligram advice unchanged.
“But to ration the 100-milligram doses, the CDC recommends pausing administration of nirsevimab to infants between 8 and 19 months of age unless they fall into certain categories that the agency deems to be most at risk,” it said within the newspaper.