ORCHARD PARK, NY (WKBW) — There is a critical shortage of the RSV vaccine for children leaving pediatricians in a struggle to give the shots and parents worried about the health of their child.
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer appeared at a pediatric office in Orchard Park Monday calling on the federal government and manufacturers to help ease the shortage to keep children safe.
Schumer says parents and doctors should not have to scramble to ensure kids get the vaccine to prevent this highly contagious respiratory illness, Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
“It took us several months of calling and working with the office to try to find, you know, dosing available for her,” recalled Dana Owczarczak, parent from Orchard Park.
The Orchard Park mother tells me she was desperately trying to get her five-month-old daughter Reese vaccinated against RSV this past fall.
Her daughter has Down syndrome and could be at higher risk of catching RSV. But WNY Pediatrics in Orchard Park was able to give Reese her vaccine in November.
Reese and her mother appeared Monday morning alongside Senator Schumer inside WNY Pediatrics.
“As a grandfather of three beautiful young children five one and a half and 10 months, there's nothing more terrifying for grandparents or parents than the thought of them getting sick and getting sick with something that's fairly serious — RSV,” declared Senator Schumer.
At a stop in Orchard Park, Senator Schumer says he's taking a "two-pronged" approach to address the vaccine shortage. He's calling on the CDC and FDA to get the shots where they are needed the most and says Western New York should be at the top of the list because of our very cold weather and high rates of respiratory illness.
“We can't let this become a crisis. With everyone working together, we can prevent these shortages,” reflected Schumer.
Schumer is also calling on manufacturers to "speed up" the supply chain.
“So that's what they've got to do. It’s not just the manufacturer of this, it's called Beyfortus, but different chemicals go into making the vaccine and there's a shortage of them, so that's what they need to speed up,” explained Schumer. “Manufacturers and feds can work together to ensure that bureaucratic hurdles and regulatory hurdles aren't getting in the way of getting the vaccines out. Make sure those supply chain issues don't persist, so there won't be another spike in the shortages.”
“It’s really, really a bad disease. it's highly contagious,” remarked Dr. Colleen Mattimore, pediatrician, WNY Pediatrics.
Dr. Mattimore tells me the shortage is very critical and they are running out.
“What happened is the bottom fell out and there was a shortage,” explained Dr. Mattimore. “And all of a sudden, we were told you can't get what you ordered. You can only get small amounts, and it varies from week to month. So, that every day, we have a board in the back that shows how many we have — right now — we only have one left for babies. One left."
Dr. Mattimore explained RSV is especially bad for infants because it travels down into their airways and affects their breathing.
“And then your lungs, so you get this horrible cough — this tight wheezy congestion that babies can get. They struggled to breathe and then if it's in their lungs, that's pneumonia. It interferes with oxygen exchange and those babies, and they can't eat they can't bottle or nurse of the breastfed,” described Dr. Mattimore.
“How scary is it as a mom to hear that other parents and families that are at risk can't the vaccine right now?” Buckley asked. “It's very scary, especially as parents because we feel there's so little you can do, personally to change the situation,” replied Owczarczak.
“The vaccine actually given to babies — it's ‘one and done’ — given to babies eight months and younger,” noted Dr. Mattimore.
Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo tells me “Thankfully" they are experiencing a drop in RSV cases.
“We're seeing a significant decrease in cases and will likely continue to do so,” wrote Children’s.
Health experts say immunization for RSV is the best protection for a child. They say the shot provides antibodies and has an 80-percent effect in decreasing hospitalization.
