A year ago, hospitals across the country noticed a disconcerting trend. Despite winter still being a few weeks away, many were experiencing a shortage of pediatric hospital beds due to an early surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). As a result, parents who needed to take their children to the emergency room faced longer-than-usual wait times. Some children were being sent to hospitals in other states. But the brutal season ended on a somewhat hopeful note: a variety of vaccines, including a monoclonal antibody treatment called Nirsevimab, were in development and would likely be available the following year.
That time has arrived. While RSV has yet to take off in an extraordinary way like it did in 2022, those who are looking to protect their children from the virus are running into a major problem: the much-hyped shot is in short supply. As many media outlets have reported, parents are struggling to find the shot for their kids, and some pediatricians are angry. What happened?
