More than 1,400 people have been hospitalized with RSV in Wisconsin this season.
More than a third of those cases were children under two.
There have been three pediatric RSV deaths in the state since November 1.
To help mitigate risks of severe cases, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is urging pregnant people to get vaccinated against RSV.
Dr. Stephanie Schauer with DHS says the vaccine can be given at the same time as the COVID and Flu vaccines.
“We really want individuals who are pregnant to talk with their health care providers and make sure that they are up to date and have received all of these vaccines that can help protect them as well as their newborn,” said Dr. Schauer.
There is also an RSV Vaccine for Children under eight months, but the supply for that vaccine is still limited.
Parents should be keeping a close eye on symptoms.
“Usually, the symptoms start off with just an upper respiratory type of illness, runny nose, cough. It's really hard to distinguish RSV from influenza and COVID, especially in the early stages, and that's especially true with young children. What we are most concerned about are the complications. As we said, the younger children can develop higher fevers. If they are developing a fever and have it for more than a few days, they need to see their pediatrician very quickly,” Tom Haupt, DHS Respiratory Disease Epidemiologist.
The RSV vaccine is also available to all adults aged 60 and older.
There are two RSV vaccines available for this age group.
DHS says both vaccines are safe and effective.
It’s not just RSV that’s been leading to an increase in hospitalizations across the state.
COVID-19 activity is in its second biggest spike in Wisconsin since the pandemic began. This is according to wastewater monitoring data from the state Department of Health Services.
The last time wastewater showed levels this high, the state was averaging nearly 4,000 new cases a day.
“RSV and influenza and COVID are all in high activities and are causing many hospitalizations throughout all age groups,” said Haupt.
RSV, COVID, and Flu cases have been rising steadily since early November.
Influenza-like illness activity is considered high throughout Wisconsin and Michigan.
But there is good news. It’s likely we’re entering a plateau.
“We have heard from other states in our area, in our region, that they are starting to see this plateau of RSV activity. But in the meantime, while we still are at the high activity for all three, and again, this is only the second year where RSV, COVID, and also influenza have been circulating at high rates at the same time,” said Haupt. “We're optimistic, we're hoping that we're approaching a peak and we're going to have declining levels very soon. We should know more by the end of the week.”
Vaccines are available for COVID, the flu, and RSV. You can find locations to get COVID and flu vaccines here.
