Children’s Hospital opens clinic to give RSV shot to babies

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The Children’s Hospital is trying to head off respiratory virus season, launching an immunization clinic to help protect infants from a cold-like infection that lands some in hospital. 

The just-opened immunization program is targeting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a seasonal disease that triggers mild symptoms in most but can be a particular threat to infants in their first year of life.  

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“Little babies can get very sick, very quickly,” said nurse practitioner Erin Fleischer, who is overseeing the program.  

“The goal of this RSV prophylaxis is to give everybody these antibodies that will help them fight the infection off so they don’t gets sick enough that they need to seek medical care.”  

While many infants are able to recover at home, in some, the virus moves from the upper airway into the lungs, causing inflammation that makes breathing difficult, she said. This complication can land little kids in hospital for treatment.

The Children’s Hospital clinic is open to infants who are without a family doctor or primary care provider. Parents seeking an appointment can leave a message with the clinic and receive a call back to book a time, Fleischer said.  

The RSV immunization is a long-acting monoclonal antibody that works differently than other shots. Instead of typical vaccines that introduce a dead version of the virus to the body, stimulating the person’s own immune response, the RSV immunization delivers ready-to-go antibodies. 

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“It’s a passive immunity. We’re introducing those antibodies that are already made into the body and they work immediately. The body doesn’t have to create that immune response,” Fleischer said.  

Pregnant women who get the RSV shot late in the pregnancy can pass along the antibodies to their infant. This is an option for people who do not want their infants to get the shot, Fleischer said, but the infant immunization is still the recommended first-line of defence against the disease.  

The infant RSV shot will also be offered to all babies born at the hospital this respiratory virus season. 

RSV, which can also lead to significant hospitalizations in seniors, and other seasonal respiratory diseases take a significant toll on the province’s health system.  

Children’s Hospital in 2022 recorded its busiest November on record, a situation largely driven by a spike in RSV infections. At the time, it was seeing up to 200 patients through its Children’s Hospital emergency room doors daily, a department only built to see 100 a day. 

“The vast majority of kids who are admitted to hospital with RSV are otherwise healthy, term babies. They have no other underlying medical conditions that would make them at risk,” Fleischer said. “The healthy population can be just as affected as our high-risk population.”

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The hope is that boosting uptake of the RSV shot among the youngest Londoners will take the pressure off not only hospital emergency rooms, but urgent care, doctors’ offices and walk-in clinics too, Fleischer said.  

The clinic is open to all infants born on or after Jan.1, 2024, who do not have a primary care provider and runs on Mondays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

To book an appointment, call 519-685-8500 ext. 50071.  

jbieman@postmedia.com 

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