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Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of hospitalized acute respiratory illness (ARI) among young children. With RSV vaccines and immunoprophylaxis agents in clinical development, we sought to update estimates of US pediatric RSV hospitalization burden., Methods: Children <5 years old hospitalized for ARI were enrolled through active, prospective, population-based surveillance from November 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, at 7 US pediatric hospital sites. Clinical information was obtained from parent interviews and medical records. Midturbinate nasal and throat flocked swabs were collected and tested for RSV by using molecular diagnostic assays at each site. We conducted descriptive analyses and calculated population-based rates of RSV-associated hospitalizations., Results: Among 2969 hospitalized children included in analyses, 1043 (35%) tested RSV-positive; 903 (87%) children who were RSV-positive were <2 years old, and 526 (50%) were <6 months old. RSV-associated hospitalization rates were 2.9 per 1000 children <5 years old and 14.7 per 1000 children <6 months old; the highest age-specific rate was observed in 1-month-old infants (25.1 per 1000). Most children who were infected with RSV (67%) had no underlying comorbid conditions and no history of preterm birth., Conclusions: During the 2015-2016 season, RSV infection was associated with one-third of ARI hospitalizations in our study population of young children. Hospitalization rates were highest in infants <6 months. Most children who were RSV-positive had no history of prematurity or underlying medical conditions, suggesting that all young children could benefit from targeted interventions against RSV., Competing Interests: POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Dr Halasa receives research support from Sanofi and is a consultant for Moderna and Karius. Dr Englund receives research support from AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax, and Janssen and is a consultant for Sanofi Pasteur and Meissa Vaccines. Dr Williams serves as a consultant for Quidel, GlaxoSmithKline, and ID Connect, none of which are relevant to this article. Dr Harrison’s institution receives research funding from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, and Pfizer for vaccine studies on which he is an investigator. Dr Schuster’s institution receives research funding from Merck for a study in which she is an investigator. Dr Pahud’s institution receives research funding from GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Alere for vaccine studies in which she is an investigator, and she serves as a consultant for Sanofi, Pfizer, Seqirus, and GlaxoSmithKline. Dr Munoz receives research support from Novavax, Regeneron, Biocryst, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, serves as a data and safety monitoring board member for Pfizer and Moderna, receives royalties from UpToDate as an author and editor, and is a consultant for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; the other authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a leading cause of hospitalization among infants. However, estimates of the RSV hospitalization burden have varied, and precision has been limited by the use of age strata grouped in blocks of 6 to ≥ 12 months., Methods: We analyzed data from a 5-year, prospective, population-based surveillance for young children who were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed (reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) RSV acute respiratory illness (ARI) during October through March 2000-2005. The total population at risk was stratified by month of age by birth certificate information to yield hospitalization rates., Results: There were 559 (26%) RSV-infected children among the 2149 enrolled children hospitalized with ARI (85% of all eligible children with ARI). The average RSV hospitalization rate was 5.2 per 1000 children <24 months old. The highest age-specific rate was in infants 1 month old (25.9 per 1000 children). Infants ≤ 2 months of age, who comprised 44% of RSV-hospitalized children, had a hospitalization rate of 17.9 per 1000 children. Most children (79%) were previously healthy. Very preterm infants (<30 weeks' gestation) accounted for only 3% of RSV cases but had RSV hospitalization rates 3 times that of term infants., Conclusions: Young infants, especially those who were 1 month old, were at greatest risk of RSV hospitalization. Four-fifths of RSV-hospitalized infants were previously healthy. To substantially reduce the burden of RSV hospitalizations, effective general preventive strategies will be required for all young infants, not just those with risk factors.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine both practice and child characteristics and practice strategies associated with receipt of influenza vaccine in young children during the 2004-2005 influenza season, the first season for the universal influenza vaccination recommendation for all children who are aged 6 to 23 months., Methods: Clinical and demographic data from randomly selected children who were aged 6 to 23 months were obtained by chart review from a community-based cohort study in 3 US counties. The proportion of children who were vaccinated by April 5, 2005, in each practice was obtained. For assessment of practice characteristics and strategies, sampled practices received a self-administered practice survey. Practice and child characteristics that predicted complete influenza vaccination were determined by using multinomial logistic regression., Results: Forty-six (88%) of 52 sampled practices completed the survey and permitted chart reviews. Of 2384 children who were aged 6 to 23 months and were studied, 27% were completely vaccinated. The proportion of children who were completely vaccinated varied widely among practices (0%-71%). Most (87%) practices implemented ≥1 vaccination strategy. Complete influenza vaccination was associated with 3 practice characteristics: suburban location, lower patient volume, and vaccination strategies of evening/weekend vaccine clinics; with child characteristics of younger age, existing high-risk conditions, ≥6 well visits to the practice by 3 years of age, and any practice visit from October through January., Conclusions: Modifiable factors that were associated with increased influenza vaccination coverage included October to January practice visits and evening/weekend vaccine clinics.