New York is facing an “unprecedented” surge in pediatric Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases that the federal government must address before it’s too late, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday.
The Empire State’s senior senator said about 300 children are entering the emergency room each day at Cohen Children’s Medical Center on Long Island, the state’s largest children’s hospital, and the majority of those arriving at hospitals with respiratory symptoms are testing positive for RSV, a highly contagious cold-like disease that produces mild illness for adults, but can lead to complications like pneumonia, hospitalization, or even death among children and infants.
