February 2026
Every year, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) causes serious complications for many people, with an estimated 100,000 to 160,000 adults 60 and older hospitalized with complications. But it’s not just older adults who are impacted. An estimated 58,000 to 80,000 kids under five are also hospitalized from RSV each year.
Fortunately, there’s a vaccine that can help protect older and higher-risk adults from RSV complications — and also help pregnant women protect their babies before birth.
What is RSV?
RSV is a common respiratory disease that circulates primarily in the fall and winter. RSV spreads the same way the flu does, and its symptoms are similar: coughing, sneezing, fever, a runny nose, and a decreased appetite.
Most people think of RSV as dangerous only for babies and toddlers, since the disease is often like a cold for most people. But as adults grow older — especially once they’re over 60 — their immune systems become less efficient at fighting off illness. Even healthy, active older adults have immune systems that are less effective at clearing the body of infections.
RSV and older adults
RSV becomes more serious as people grow older, hospitalizing 60,000 to 160,000 adults and causing 6,000 to 10,000 deaths each year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. These numbers might even be an underestimate, since RSV testing in hospitals is less common than testing for flu and COVID-19.
RSV vaccines first became available to adults in the U.S. in 2023. Currently, the CDC recommends the RSV vaccine for all adults aged 75+. They also recommend it for adults aged 50 through 74 who are at high risk for severe complications from RSV infection.
Risk factors include:
- Chronic heart, lung, or liver disease
- Moderate to severely weakened immune system
- Severe obesity (BMI 40+)
- Living in a nursing home
- Diabetes that requires insulin and/or presents with complications (such as diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, kidney disease, etc.)
RSV and infants
RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis (an infection of the lung’s tiny airways) and pneumonia in children under the age of one. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, RSV hospitalizes about 58,000 to 80,000 children in the U.S. and causes about 100 to 300 deaths each year.
While there is no vaccine approved for children, there are still ways to protect vulnerable infants from RSV. Here’s how:
- Vaccination during pregnancy: While newborns cannot receive an RSV vaccine, pregnant women can get the RSV vaccine between weeks 32 and 36 to transfer antibodies to their baby. During pregnancy, antibodies from the mother are transferred from the placenta to the growing baby.
- Monoclonal antibody protection: If a mother doesn’t get the RSV vaccine during pregnancy (or her baby was born less than 14 days after vaccination), nirsevimab can help prevent RSV in infants under eight months old.
Children aged 8 to 19 months with certain conditions may also benefit from nirsevimab before their second RSV season. This group includes certain children with chronic lung disease from premature birth or cystic fibrosis, children with severe immunocompromising conditions, and American Indian/Alaskan Native children.
Other ways to help prevent RSV
Since RSV is a respiratory virus, everyday hygiene measures can help reduce the likelihood that you or your loved one will develop an RSV infection.
- Stay home when sick and keep children home from school.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your shirt sleeve.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water — or use hand sanitizer when handwashing is not possible.
- During cold and flu season, reduce close contact with others as much as possible.
- Refrain from touching your face or others’ faces with your hands if you haven’t just washed them.
- Regularly clean surfaces that people touch often, such as counters, doorknobs, remote controls, and other electronic devices.
If you have questions about the RSV vaccine or other prevention guidance, your pharmacist can help.
