NYT Doctors recommend that eligible people get vaccinated in late summer or early fall so antibodies can kick in before cases spread. Respiratory syncytial virus, known as R.S.V., is one of the world’s most common respiratory illnesses and the leading reason infants go to the hospital in the United States.
It infects roughly 64 million people around the world each year. In the United States, it sends tens of thousands of children to the hospital annually and kills as many as 10,000 adults aged 65 and older.
R.S.V. typically begins spreading in the fall, with cases peaking around mid-winter. And it can be a “mean virus,” said Dr. Sean Liu, an associate professor of infectious diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.
Most people who get infected develop fairly mild symptoms, which can include coughing and wheezing, a runny nose, fever, loss of appetite and congestion. But adults 75 and older and babies are at higher risk of getting seriously sick. People with compromised immune systems and underlying chronic conditions are also more likely to die from the virus.