Orange County has declared a health emergency for what officials describe as a rapidly spreading viral infection leading to a record number of hospitalizations for children.
The OC’s Health Care Agency said on Monday that daily emergency room visits are also on the rise in the area. There is no vaccine against RSV, a common respiratory virus that causes cold-like symptoms, but local authorities want people to know the latest information on COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
Regina Chinseo Kwong, County Health Officer and Chief Medical Officer of HCA said this. “The best we can do to protect ourselves and our children from respiratory diseases is the same thing we are doing during a pandemic, including wearing a mask when at home with other people and staying at home when sick.”
Additionally, a local emergency declaration was announced, allowing Orange County to access state and federal resources to combat the spread.
Health officials warn parents to watch out for symptoms such as rapid breathing, dizziness, blue lips, or babies squeezing their ribs. They also said parents and caregivers should keep children with respiratory illnesses away from daycare, even if they test negative for COVID.
A local doctor told Eyewitness News that young children are more likely to develop respiratory diseases.
said Dr. Reshma Chand Dignity Health and Northridge Hospital.
A new search appears Vaccinating pregnant women has helped protect their newborns from RSV, giving hope that a vaccine against the virus may finally be close after decades of failures.
Pfizer announced Tuesday that a large international study found vaccinating pregnant women was about 82 percent effective in preventing severe cases of RSV in their most susceptible babies in the first 90 days of life. At 6 months of age, the vaccine is still 69% effective against serious illness and there are no signs of safety concerns in the mother or baby.
Vaccine research is not just about protecting children. RSV is also dangerous for the elderly, and both Pfizer and rival GSK recently announced that competitive fire has been shown to protect the elderly as well.
None of these findings will help this year, when the initial spike of the respiratory virus is already crowding pediatric hospitals. But they raise the possibility that one or more vaccines will be available before next fall’s RSV season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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