RSV vaccine is leading to significant decrease in infant hospitalizations, doctors say

It has been a brutal viral season, but as RSV cases surged in New York, Northwell Health doctors say infant hospitalizations remained down.

They credit a fairly new vaccine for that. It is administered through RSV season, which runs from September to March.

"RSV is most dangerous for children the younger they are"  

While new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine guidelines only recommend the RSV vaccine for high-risk groups, doctors that spoke to CBS News New York for this story and the American Academy of Pediatrics say their guidelines have not changed and they continue to recommend it for all children.      

"It's usually given early in infancy and that's just because it's most effective. You want to make sure that the medicine gets into the baby before the baby gets the disease and we know that RSV is most dangerous for children the younger they are," said Dr. Annemarie Stroustrup, of Cohen Children's Medical Center.

• Read more: Magic Johnson visits the Bronx, talks about importance of RSV vaccination for older residents

Stroustrup says RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants in the U.S.

"In children's hospitals, oftentimes, particularly in November, December, January, we are really, really full because of a lot of RSV, and this year that has not been the case," Stroustrup said.

During peak RSV season in previous years, Cohen's admitted about 250 to 300 patients per month, but this year there have been less than 50 per month. Stroustrup credits the vaccine for that.

Vaccinating babies for RSV is a no-brainer, doctors say

A 17-month-old named Shay was as happy as can be while recently visiting Cohen Children's Medical Center. She looked as if she was running the place, but it's actually her moms who work there, and they know, first hand, the hospital can be a much different experience for a child.

"We're both NICU nurses, so we've kind of seen what RSV can do to babies," Emily Bridgen-Mannino said.

That's why when given the choice to immunize Shay against RSV, it was a no-brainer.

"My nephew had RSV and he was admitted to the hospital for over a week, so when we saw that, we kind of like knew, you know, this was something that we really didn't want her to get," Bridgen-Mannino said.

Pregnant women also encouraged to get the vaccine

The vaccine was first introduced in late 2023, with limited availability, as a monoclonal antibody for babies and a vaccine for pregnant women. Now that it's widely available, doctors say, they're seeing a significant impact.

"We've found that moms who get the RSV vaccine, their babies are significantly less likely to need to see a health care provider for RSV. Their risk of being hospitalized for RSV is about half and most importantly, their risk of ending up in the ICE is 82% less," said Dr. Agata Kantorowska, of Katz Women's Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

Kantorowska says if a pregnant mom gets the vaccine, the baby won't need one, which is a big reason expectant mother Anayat Ghotra said she got the shot.

"If you can do something to prevent your baby from being super sick, we should do it," Ghotra said.