Because your baby's lungs deserve protection against serious RSV lung infection

RSV season is just beginning, and Beyfortus is available beginning October 1 in most places. Your baby should be able to get Beyfortus in the hospital at birth, or at their first well visit.

Since RSV season is still underway, you should plan to get Beyfortus for your baby as soon as possible, ideally in the hospital at birth or at your baby’s first well-visit.

For babies born just after RSV season, it’s important to plan ahead. Beyfortus is available starting October 1 in most places, so set a reminder to make an appointment then.

For summer babies, RSV season is just around the corner, so it’s a good idea to have your plan to get Beyfortus in place. Ask your baby's doctor for an early fall appointment.

CHERYL: My pregnancy with my twin girls was a roller coaster to say the least. I had a very difficult time getting pregnant, followed by many tumultuous moments throughout my pregnancy, and I knew that the girls were likely to be born premature. I remember feeling totally overwhelmed, trying to do as much as I could to make the right decisions for my babies, even before they were born.

At the time, my husband had taught the children of the doctor leading the trial – a pediatrician at a hospital near us who was involved in research and clinical trials for an immunization to help protect babies against a serious RSV lung infection.

The doctor mentioned the clinical trial to my husband and I was interested in learning more because while I know every baby is at risk of RSV during that first year of life, preemies are at even greater risk of getting sick as their immune systems are not as strong as those carried to term.

After careful consideration and sitting down to talk with the doctor, we made the decision to enroll our babies in the trial. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage other parents to do the same – it’s important to learn as much as you can and do what feels right for your baby.

I learned that the science wasn’t “new” or “experimental” – the lead doctor of the trial had been working in the field of pediatric RSV for most of his career, and a similar preventive antibody was already being given to certain premature babies. I also learned that it was not a vaccine, but a preventive antibody.

Antibodies act like a bodyguard for your baby’s immune system, offering ready-made protection against RSV. Unlike vaccines, which train the body to respond over time, they help deliver a rapid defense against serious RSV lung infection—no training required.

When we joined the clinical trial, serious RSV lung infection was the leading cause of hospitalization for babies under 1. RSV is usually mild, and while hospitalization is rare, it remains a leading cause today. I saw just how scary RSV could be when my friend’s son had to be taken to the ER. RSV season is generally from fall through spring, and often peaks in the winter, which was important for us because we were expecting to deliver in December.

Those are just a few reasons I was motivated to help protect my babies with what is now known as Beyfortus. The lead doctor explained that Beyfortus was being studied to help prevent a serious lung disease caused by RSV for babies under 1 during their first RSV season, and certain kids up to 24 months.

He also shared that babies with a history of serious allergic reactions to any of the ingredients in Beyfortus should not receive it, and talked me through the potential side effects.

In our family’s personal experience, the girls did not contract serious respiratory lung infection, and experienced no side effects from the immunization. This was a relief given all the germs coming into our house with me as a teacher, our oldest daughter in pre-k, and my husband working as a respiratory therapist in a hospital.

We felt totally confident in our decision and knew this was bigger than just helping protect our own girls – we had an opportunity to be part of something that could potentially impact babies around the world. Today, the twins are 11 years old and always keeping us on our toes. I think it’s important to share our story now because I want other parents to feel informed and know why helping to protect their baby against serious RSV lung infection is so important.

It’s understandable why so many parents struggle with health decisions for their babies during a time of information overload. That’s why conversations with people you trust, like your baby’s doctor, are so important. Remember that no baby is too strong or too healthy to be left unprotected. Millions of families have chosen Beyfortus to help protect their baby against serious RSV lung infection. You can hear more stories on Beyfortus.com.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Your child should not take Beyfortus if your child has a history of serious allergic reactions to nirsevimab-alip or any of the ingredients in Beyfortus.

Before your child receives Beyfortus, tell your healthcare provider about all of your child's medical conditions, including if your child:

• has ever had a reaction to Beyfortus.
• has bleeding or bruising problems. If your child has a problem with bleeding or bruises easily, an injection could cause a problem.

Tell your healthcare provider about all of the medicines your child takes, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. Your infant should not receive a medicine called palivizumab if they have already received Beyfortus in the same RSV season.

Serious allergic reactions have happened with Beyfortus. Get medical help right away if your child has any of the following signs or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction:

• swelling of the face, mouth, or tongue
• difficulty swallowing or breathing
• unresponsiveness
• bluish color of skin, lips, or under fingernails
• muscle weakness
• severe rash, hives, or itching

The most common side effects of Beyfortus include rash and pain, swelling or hardness at the site of your child's injection. These are not all the possible side effects of Beyfortus. Call your healthcare provider if you have questions about side effects.

INDICATION

Beyfortus is a prescription medicine used to help prevent a serious lung disease caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in:

• Newborns and babies under 1 year of age born during or entering their first RSV season.
• Children up to 24 months of age who remain at risk of severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.

Please see full Prescribing Information including the Patient Information at the top of this site.

LAINE: We have a three-and-a-half-year-old son named Oliver, and our daughter Allison just turned one. We just love being together when we can. We both work full time. Our weekdays are pretty busy, but on weekends we really like to just spend time together as a family, explore our neighborhood, go to the local parks. We also really love baking as a family, and Oliver's now old enough to be a little bit helpful instead of just making a huge mess.

We thought about a lot of things when we were preparing to welcome a baby, and illness was absolutely one of them. We knew a lot of families with young children, so we saw a lot about how sick kids can get. I think for us it was partially about our children's health primarily, but also what it would mean for us as a busy family, having to juggle sick kids with our work schedules as well.

Oliver was born in 2020, really at the peak of Covid shutdown, so he had very limited exposure to illness as a baby. But when Allison was born in 2023, she was born into a world that was much more open. She had a 2-year-old brother in childcare, so from day one, she had a huge amount more exposure than her brother had. The more I learned about RSV, the more fearful I was. Although most of the time RSV will only cause a mild cold-like illness, it was definitely something we wanted to avoid for our children.

There are a lot of things as a parent that I have no control over that I can't do anything about, and when I have the option to do something that can help them, I absolutely want to do that and I will always choose that option when I can. We decided trying to help prevent RSV lung infection was something that we wanted to prioritize for our family.

I heard about Beyfortus right around the time that Allison was born. I heard some rumblings on social media and news communities that this may be a potential option, and from the beginning I was following those conversations very closely.

I did my research. Beyfortus can help prevent serious lung infection related to RSV for babies under 12 months, born during, or entering their first RSV season, and can also help protect children up to 24 months who remain at elevated risk for severe lung infection related to RSV.

I learned that Beyfortus is a preventative antibody that can help give babies in their first year an extra layer of protection against serious lung infection caused by RSV.

We knew that the most common side effects included rash and pain, swelling or hardness at the injection site.

I had never heard of a preventative antibody. I didn't know what that was, but as I learned more, I had a lot of excitement that this was maybe a way that I could help protect my daughter in a way that I was not able to for my son. I brought up the discussion with our doctor. I made the appointment. I want to help champion for RSV protection by sharing my Beyfortus story.

The advice that I would give to another parent considering Beyfortus as an option for their child would be to spend some time thinking about the risks and benefits of Beyfortus and spend some time thinking about the risks of RSV and to me, it just made sense.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Your child should not take Beyfortus if your child has a history of serious allergic reactions to nirsevimab-alip or any of the ingredients in Beyfortus.

Before your child receives Beyfortus, tell your healthcare provider about all of your child's medical conditions, including if your child:

• has ever had a reaction to Beyfortus.
• has bleeding or bruising problems. If your child has a problem with bleeding or bruises easily, an injection could cause a problem.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines your child takes, including prescription and
over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Your infant should not receive a medicine called palivizumab if they have already received Beyfortus in the same RSV season.

Serious allergic reactions have happened with Beyfortus. Get medical help right away if your child has any of the following signs or symptoms of a serious allergic reaction:

• swelling of the face, mouth, or tongue
• difficulty swallowing or breathing
• unresponsiveness
• bluish color of skin, lips, or under fingernails
• muscle weakness
• severe rash, hives, or itching

The most common side effects of Beyfortus include rash and pain, swelling, or hardness at the site of your child's injection. These are not all the possible side effects of Beyfortus. Call your healthcare provider if you have questions about side effects.

INDICATION

Beyfortus is a prescription medicine used to help prevent a serious lung disease caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in:

• Newborns and babies under l year of age born during or entering their first RSV season.
• Children up to 24 months of age who remain at risk of severe RSV disease through their second RSV season.

Please see full Prescribing Information including the Patient Information at the top of this site.

Beyfortus® (nirsevimab-alip) is a preventive antibody. That means it can help give babies the layer of protection they need to fight against RSV, and it can do it right away . Beyfortus can help prevent serious lung infections, like bronchiolitis or pneumonia caused by RSV, in babies under 1 year of age born during or entering their first RSV season. Beyfortus may not protect all children.

Beyfortus is usually injected in your baby’s thigh.

Vaccines are like self-defense instructors, they teach the immune system to create its own antibodies. Beyfortus is a preventive antibody which acts like a bodyguard. Beyfortus helps give the protection that your baby’s maturing immune system can’t yet provide for itself against a serious RSV lung infection.