Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center has 87 pediatric beds. At Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, there are 37. Nearly all of those 124 beds were filled as of Friday, many with children who have respiratory viruses, including RSV. EMMC’s Dr Jonathan Wood says it is rising much earlier than usual. “This is actually when we start seeing RSV, and we’re already seeing it as if it were mid-January in a normal year,” he says. Most people experience RSV as a cold. But young children — especially babies younger than 6 months — are at risk for severe symptoms that make breathing difficult. Some even have to be put on respirators. Both the severity and spread of RSV have some pediatricians comparing the situation to the beginning of the COVID pandemic. “The difference between now and January 2020 is that our health care system is really strained,” says Dr. Mary Ottolini, chair of pediatrics at Barbara Bush. Ottolini says the strain is due to more patients and less staff. Many left during the peak of the pandemic due to burnout. To maintain capacity, hospital officials are urging families to take precautions to prevent their children from becoming seriously ill by wearing masks and keeping babies away from crowded indoor spaces. And if a child gets sick, call their pediatrician first before going to the emergency room. “Strongly consider getting a flu shot for your child because we’re about to enter flu season on top of this early RSV season,” says Wood. “And that combination when those two overlap – as they do every year – but this year, it could be quite extraordinary.”
