All New Yorkers ages 75 and older should receive the RSV vaccine heading into the fall and winter months, unless they previously got the shot, according to updated federal guidance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously recommended the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, vaccine for everyone ages 65 and above, but recently revised that for the 75-plus age group based, in part, on analysis of the disease risks and vaccine effectiveness studies.
The updated guidelines noted New Yorkers ages 60 to 74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV ‒ meaning they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or they live in nursing homes ‒ should also still receive the RSV vaccine.
The RSV vaccine is not currently an annual vaccine, meaning people do not need to get a dose every RSV season, which typically starts in the fall and peaks in winter, the CDC says.
How many New Yorkers received RSV vaccine so far
About 20% of New Yorkers ages 60 and older received the RSV vaccine as of May, federal data shows, which is slightly below the national average of 24%.
That comes after New York lagged other states in adult vaccination rates for key illnesses, including tetanus and pneumonia, as the pandemic hit in 2020, ranking 44th worst or lower for those diseases at the time, federal data shows.
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Why get the RSV shot?
RSV causes more than 177,000 hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths among older Americans each year, federal data show, with CDC recommending eligible patients get the shot in late summer or early fall before infections begin to rise.
What about infants and RSV?
RSV infects nearly everyone by age 2 and typically causes cold symptoms. But it’s also the leading cause of hospitalizations among newborns and younger children. Among those under age 5, the CDC reports between 58,000 and 80,000 hospitalizations a year.
To prevent severe RSV disease in infants, CDC recommends either maternal RSV vaccination or infant immunization with RSV monoclonal antibodies. Most infants will not need both.
The recommendations for maternal include:
- 1 dose of maternal RSV vaccine during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy, administered September through January. Pfizer Abrysvo is the only RSV vaccine recommended during pregnancy.
Immunization for infants and young children include:
- 1 dose of nirsevimab for all infants aged 8 months and younger born during or entering their first RSV season.
- 1 dose of nirsevimab for infants and children aged 8–19 months who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease and entering their second RSV season.
A different monoclonal antibody, palivizumab, is limited to children aged 24 months and younger with certain conditions that place them at high risk for severe RSV disease, CDC says. It must be given once a month during RSV season, CDC added, noting further details are available through the American Academy of Pediatrics website, aap.org.
If you have any questions about RSV or the vaccines, CDC recommended people talk to their health care provider.
Adrianna Rodriguez of USA TODAY Network contributed reporting.
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