RSV in South Carolina: who's at risk and who now qualifies for protection

For years, RSV was something pediatricians talked about and most adults hadn't heard of. That's changed. RSV can be serious for infants, and it's also a real risk for older adults and people with certain chronic conditions.

The bigger change is prevention. There are now options aimed at protecting young infants, and vaccines for some older adults, each with its own eligibility rules set by the CDC. Those rules are specific about age, timing and health status, and they've been revised more than once. That's exactly the kind of guidance that goes stale fast, so we date everything here.

In this section you'll find plain explanations of RSV symptoms, what breathing trouble looks like in a baby, who the current recommendations apply to, and what to ask your pediatrician or pharmacist.