CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Pfizer has announced an RSV vaccine for kids that will be given to pregnant mothers. This is the first vaccine for RSV and it's expected to be available this summer.
If approved, pregnant mothers would be able to take the vaccination in as early as August to protect their babies. Infants don't have a strong immune system within their first year, so the vaccination can help lower hospitalizations.
3NEWS spoke with infectious disease specialist local health authority, Dr. Srikanth Ramachandruni to learn more.
"They give this vaccine to pregnant moms between 24 months and 36 months of pregnancy. And so the idea is the pregnant moms develop the antibodies and pass on to the infants," he said.
Ramachandruni said the vaccination can prevent the severity of RSV and lower deaths related to the virus. He said there are hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations due to RSV every year.
The FDA is reviewing the RSV vaccine. If approved, the vaccine could be available this August.