RSV Season Is Coming: What Every Parent Needs to Know

If you've been in a pediatrician's office in the fall, you've probably heard the acronym RSV thrown around a lot. It stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and if you're a parent of a baby or young child, it's worth understanding — because this season, there are more tools than ever to protect your little one from it.

Let's break it down the way I always do: Who, What, and Why.

WHO is at risk?

RSV can infect anyone, but it hits two groups the hardest:

• Babies, especially those under 8 months old. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in U.S. infants. Their small airways make it easy for the virus to cause real breathing trouble.

• Older adults, especially those 75+ or with underlying health conditions, are also at high risk — so if grandma or grandpa is around the baby a lot, this matters for your whole family.

Certain infants and toddlers carry extra risk into a second RSV season, including babies born very prematurely (before 32 weeks), and children with chronic lung disease, significant heart disease, severe immune compromise, Down syndrome or other chromosomal conditions, certain neuromuscular or lung abnormalities, or cystic fibrosis. American Indian and Alaska Native children are also considered higher risk. If your child fits into one of these categories, it's worth a specific conversation with your pediatrician about extra protection.

WHAT is RSV, exactly?

RSV is a common respiratory virus that circulates every fall and winter (and increasingly, into spring — recent seasons have peaked as late as March or April). In older kids and healthy adults, it often just looks like a cold: runny nose, cough, low-grade fever, maybe a few days of feeling crummy.

In young infants, though, RSV can travel down into the lower airways and cause bronchiolitis or pneumonia — showing up as rapid or labored breathing, wheezing, flaring nostrils, or a baby who's suddenly not feeding well or acting extra fussy or lethargic. This is why RSV sends so many babies to the ER and hospital every year, even ones with no other health problems.

WHY does prevention matter this year — and what are the options?

Here's the genuinely good news: for the first time in RSV's history, we have real, effective ways to protect babies before they ever get sick — not just treatments after the fact. There are two main routes, and most families only need one.

Option 1: The maternal RSV vaccine (Abrysvo), given during pregnancy

If you're pregnant, you can receive a single dose of Abrysvo between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. Your body builds antibodies against RSV and passes them to your baby through the placenta, so your baby is born already carrying some protection. This year, the recommended window for getting the vaccine runs from September through early March in most of the country.

Option 2: An RSV antibody shot for the baby (nirsevimab or clesrovimab)

If you weren't vaccinated during pregnancy, weren't able to get it in time, or your baby is born less than two weeks after you received it (not enough time for antibodies to transfer), your baby can receive a single dose of a long-acting monoclonal antibody — either nirsevimab (Beyfortus) or clesrovimab (Enflonsia) — ideally right in the hospital after birth, or at their first pediatric visit if born

during RSV season (October through March in most areas). This isn't a vaccine that trains your baby's immune system; it's a dose of ready-made antibodies that directly protects them through their first RSV season.

A note for second-season toddlers: Most kids only need one layer of protection in their first RSV season. But if your child falls into one of the higher-risk categories above and is heading into their second RSV season (roughly 8–19 months old), nirsevimab is recommended again, regardless of what protection they had as an infant.

The bottom line: Talk with your OB and your pediatrician about which option fits your situation — vaccination during pregnancy, or the antibody shot for your baby after birth. Either one offers strong protection; you generally don't need both.

A quick word on staying current

Guidance around RSV prevention has been evolving quickly the last couple of years as we've gotten more real-world data — and this year, several major medical organizations (AAP, ACOG, and IDSA among them) have published updated, detailed recommendations. If something you read here differs slightly from what your own doctor recommends, that's likely because guidance continues to be refined — always defer to your pediatrician or OB for your specific situation.

The everyday basics still count

Antibody protection is powerful, but it's not the whole toolkit. Keep doing the basics that limit spread of any respiratory virus: handwashing, keeping sick visitors away from newborns, and avoiding daycare or crowded indoor spaces when a baby is very young and RSV is circulating heavily in your area.

RSV season is coming, but for the first time, parents have real options to walk into it feeling prepared rather than just crossing their fingers. If you're expecting or have a young infant heading into their first fall and winter, this is a conversation worth having at your next doctor appointment.

Works Cited

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Clinical Overview of RSV." CDC, 2026.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "RSV Vaccine Guidance for Pregnant Women." CDC, 2025.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Clinical Guidance for RSV Immunizations and Vaccines." CDC, 2025.

• American Medical Association and Vaccine Integrity Project. "Summary of 2026–2027 Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine and Monoclonal Antibody Product Indications and Recommendations." September 2, 2026. (Consolidating guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "Maternal Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination." Practice Advisory, 2023 (updated).

• Immunize.org. "Ask the Experts: RSV — RSV Preventive Antibody Recommendations for Infants."