Best Life: RSV, COVID-19, and Flu

ORLANDO, FL (Ivanhoe Newswire) - Winter is here, and with the cooler weather comes viruses, such as the flu, COVID, and RSV.

Last year we experienced a rise in all three during December, January, and February. Can we expect the same this season? So how can you protect yourself and your children?

It’s that time of the year when sickness starts to spread quickly, but this is the first winter that vaccines are available for COVID-19, RSV, and the flu!

The updated COVID-19 shot was approved by the FDA just in time for the winter season.

“I don’t think of it as a new vaccine. I think of it as an updated version,” said Katie Lockwood, MD, Pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Doctor Lockwood recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for everyone six months and older.

The new flu vaccine is also recommended for people over six months of age. A recent study found individuals who received the flu shot were half as likely to be hospitalized as those who didn’t.

There are also now RSV vaccines available for infants and older people who are at the highest risk of developing life-threatening complications.

“Which then provides them immediate protection against RSV and has been shown to decrease hospitalizations by as much as 79%,” said Lockwood.

Two vaccines are recommended for adults over 60. A newly approved monoclonal antibody vaccine is now available for babies from birth up until eight months old.

One question all parents have is whether it is safe to get more than one vaccine at a time.

“You can separate them by a few days or a week if you need to or want to, but it’s completely safe to give them all at once,” said Lockwood.

Experts say it’s hard to know just how bad this season will be for these viruses, but they hope these vaccines will help lessen the number of people affected.

Contributors to this news report include: Julie Marks, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.

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