The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in Children

onlinelibrary.wiley.com October 21, 2024

We observed a lower incidence of RSV infection and a lower rate of hospitalization for RSV during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second RSV season during the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier, lasted longer, and had a lower frequency.

Older children with milder illnesses were affected most during this season. RSV epidemiology and disease burden were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and could have significant ramifications for its prevention and control strategies.

A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients aged 0–60 months who tested positive for RSV between May 1, 2018, and May 31, 2022, in a community hospital in Queens County, New York City, United States.

Comparisons were made between seasons 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 as before, and seasons 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Severity of RSV infection was assessed using the Bronchiolitis Severity Score (BSS). Data were analyzed using R software, a p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.