RSV Season is here!!
It’s RSV season again, and we want to be sure that families of our youngest patients are aware of our strong recommendation to prevent RSV infection in infants under 8 months of age.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that causes runny nose, congestion, fever and cough in people of all ages during the winter cold season. Unfortunately, it also has the ability to settle in the lungs and airways in young children, and can therefore cause serious problems including wheezing, difficulty breathing and low oxygen levels in our youngest patients.
RSV is a common cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis in children, and is the most common cause of hospitalization in children in the first year of life in the U.S. In our area, RSV is generally seen from October through the end of March.
There is no specific treatment for RSV. Infected children are generally given supportive care focused on hydration, fever control, and comfort measures. Two to three out of every 100 infants in the US with RSV infection may require a hospital stay. These babies continue to have trouble breathing or drinking enough fluid to stay hydrated despite home measures. If it looks like your child is working hard to breathe, is breathing faster than usual, is having trouble drinking enough fluid to stay hydrated, or is unusually lethargic with cold symptoms, call our office and arrange to be seen as soon as possible.
The very exciting news about RSV is that we now have two extremely effective ways of preventing it in infants and high-risk toddlers! The maternal RSV vaccine (Abrysvo) can be given to pregnant mothers at 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy if their baby will be born during RSV season. This vaccine significantly reduces the risk of RSV hospitalization for babies in their first six months of life. For infants up to 8 months of age and some toddlers, an RSV immunization called nirsevimab (Beyfortus) has been shown to be extremely effective in preventing hospitalization in infants. This is a one-time injection, given either in the hospital after birth or at our office, and lasts through the RSV season. A second, similar, immunization called clesrovimab (Enflonsia) has become available this winter for infants up to 8 months of age but not for toddlers. Babies whose mother received Abrysvo more than two weeks before delivery do not need the Beyfortus or Enflonsia shot.
At Framingham Pediatrics, we strongly recommend one of these methods of RSV prevention for all infants under 8 months of age. Please reach out through MyChart or call our office if you would like to arrange for your infant to receive the Beyfortus or Enflonsia shot. If you are offered this vaccine in the newborn nursery, we encourage you to get it for your baby.
Congratulations Stephanie
We are excited to announce that Stephanie Lubin-Levy, CPNP is now a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist. Stephanie has been providing care to Framingham Pediatrics patients for 10 years and it has always been her passion to care for newborns and support new families in achieving their parenting goals. She will provide breastfeeding consultations starting in January. More information to follow.
HPV Vaccine Schedule Update
We have recently updated our vaccine schedule to recommend the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to start at the 9 year well visit.
HPV vaccine is a very important vaccine, because the HPV virus is a major cause of several types of cancer, including cervical, anal, penis and throat cancers. This is the only vaccine that prevents common types of cancer! The vaccine was introduced 20 years ago. There has been a significant drop in the rate of death from cervical cancer during this time.
We are now offering the vaccine at the 9 year well visit because there is increasing evidence of the benefits of the vaccine at a younger age, and because many of our families are interested in reducing the number of vaccines at the 11 year visit. For most patients, this is a two-dose series, with the second dose 6-12 months after the first. Administering the first dose at age 9 allows for a second dose at the 10 year visit, and then one less injection at the 11 year visit.
Click here for more information about the vaccine.
Framingham Pediatrics New Patient Open House
January 12th, 5-6pm
Framingham Pediatrics' 1st New Patient Open House is scheduled for Monday January 12th from 5-6pm. Spend a relaxing evening getting to know our pediatricians, our integrated care team consisting of Sarah Gupta, LICSW- Social Worker and Stephanie Lubin-Levy, CPNP, CBS- Nurse Practitioner and Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and our welcoming staff. Feel free to bring all your questions to ask in a stress-free and friendly space. Current families are invited to bring another new or expecting family to join the fun.
More info to come.
Has your child been diagnosed with an amoxicillin allergy?
Framingham Pediatrics is excited to offer patients diagnosed with an amoxicillin allergy the opportunity to test if they are no longer allergic. Studies have shown that approximately 95% of those diagnosed are not actually allergic. We are using a well established and safe protocol that involves using oral amoxicillin in the office under observation. Over the past 6 months, we have been able to clear almost 50 patient of this allergy.
Your child may qualify if:
And
For more information about the process, please click here.
If you’re interested in scheduling an appointment or have additional questions, please call our office at 508-879-5764. Please note, appointments take a little more than an hour. Please plan accordingly, bring a book, toys, ipad or anything else for entertainment!
Help us grow the Framingham Pediatrics family!
New families often tell us that they learned about our practice on Google. If you've had a great experience at our office, please consider writing a review on Google by clicking here. And of course, tell your friends. Your referral is the most sincere form of flattery.
Thank you!
Did you know? Our office is open 365 days a year. Come to your medical home before going to Urgent Care! And our web page is open 24/7/365 with lots of information about medication dosing, common health topics, office information and so much more!