Hermitage mom calls almost 20 pharmacies to get baby new RSV shot
Davis said she did everything to get him a dose of the new Beyfortus shot.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Hospitals and pharmacies all over Middle Tennessee are rationing the new RSV shot, which protects infants and those at risk.
The vaccine shortage is making it difficult for parents to get their hands on the new shot.
Makenzie Davis, a Hermitage mom, said she called 18 pharmacies trying to protect her three-month-old son, Houston Davis.
“Just the thought of, you know, him getting sick and the pediatrician telling us that he will 100% be hospitalized if he gets RSV,” said Davis.
Houston was born six weeks early and was at high risk for the virus. Davis said she did everything to get him a dose of the new Beyfortus shot.
“I kid you not, I probably called 18 different pharmacies,” Davis said. “I’m talking Davidson County, Wilson County, DeKalb County, Putnam County. I was on it, my grandmother was on it, my mom was on it.”
“We are being restricted on the amount of product we can order,” Dr. Elizabeth Humphreys, Executive Director of Pharmacy at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, said.
She said they must pick and choose who gets the new shot released earlier this year. Their focus is to get it to patients under six months who are at high risk.
“I would recommend that parents follow up with their pediatrician,” Dr. Humphreys said. “Have a conversation with them about what’s available and what’s best for their child at their age and given their risk.”
Davis said Houston’s doctor had connections that paid off.
“Took about a week,” Davis said. “And our pediatrician called us on a Saturday at like 8:30 in the morning and was like, ‘We got very few doses. When can you get here?’”
She knows Houston wouldn’t be protected if it wasn’t for her own fight.
“At the end of the day no one is going to advocate for your child, but you just have to keep looking,” Davis said. “Don’t give up hope. Eventually, they are going to lift this criteria also. So hopefully it will be more accessible to more parents and more children.”
There is a vaccine for expecting moms that also gives babies protection against RSV. Mothers should consult their doctors.
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