In addition, the report calls for the Centers for Disease Control to make RSV a reportable disease. Better reporting could offer more accurate data on the incidence of RSV and the demographics of the patients it affects.
The NMA has also endorsed alternative guidelines issued by the National Perinatal Association. This organization’s members stand by the Food and Drug Administration’s approved use of palivizumab for infants 36 weeks gestation and younger. Broader access would allow health care providers once again to recommend palivizumab on a patient-by-patient basis.
I urge the AAP COID to take NPA’s guidelines and NMA’s recommendations to heart. RSV season began in November for many regions of the country, andseveral states have already reported higher than usual rates of RSV. The lives of black babies – the lives of all babies – must be protected.
Susanne Tropez-Sims, MD is a practicing pediatrician in Nashville, Tenn. She is former chair of the National Medication Association’s Pediatric Section and a member of the Alliance for Patient Access.