Understanding Immune Responses to Build a Better Vaccine Researchers have used studies of respiratory syncytial virus and infant immune responses to develop a promising vaccine candidate.
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Written by Abbie Roth
espiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an incredibly common yet potentially deadly pathogen. Almost everyone becomes infected with RSV during their first three years of life, but for certain populations — infants and elderly or immunocompromised people — RSV infection can lead to hospitalization or even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), RSV causes an average of 2.1 million outpatient visits and 58,000
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PediatricsNationwide.org | Spring/Summer 2021
hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years old each year in the United States alone. Unfortunately, the search for a vaccine for this dangerous virus has been long and complicated. Researchers have been working on a vaccine since the virus was identified more than 60 years ago. Many vaccine candidates have been proposed over the decades, and all have ultimately failed to provide a satisfactory protective response — but that may be changing.
