WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - The CDC issued a recent health alert in response to the limited supplies of an antibody drug protecting infants from the respiratory virus known as RSV.  

Many infants are infected with RSV during their first year of their life. Ascension Via Christi’s Dr. Amy Seery said RSV may cause a nasty cold for adults but in a baby, it can cause extreme congestion making it difficult for them to eat or breathe.  

Seery added that with a flu spike looming closer to December and RSV following soon thereafter, she recommends other ways of preventing children from having severe illnesses.

"There's a new injection that children can receive less than eight months old that gives them antibodies basically to help them fight the infection right off the bat this medication is known as Beyfortus," said Seery.  

She said mothers-to-be can take an actual RSV vaccine between 32 and 36 weeks of their pregnancy and their bodies will make the antibodies that they then pass on to their baby which helps them maintain that protection for the first several months of life. Most of the attention is on infants getting RSV, however, the elderly are also at high risk.  

"The honest fact is that we have more elderly die from RSV infections every year than we ever do for babies."

She said they are excited to see grandparents getting treated because as they age, there is a decline in full functionality of the immune system.    

If Ascension Via Christi sees a spike in RSV cases, they are equipped to take on a large number of pediatric patients but urges prevention in the beginning.