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Health: preventive medication against bronchiolitis taken by storm, maternity wards prioritize
Health: preventive medication against bronchiolitis taken by storm, maternity wards are prioritizing – (France info)
Beyfortus is a preventive medication against bronchiolitis, which reduces the risk of serious forms of the disease. Crowded by young parents, some maternity wards are forced to sort babies.
Just before summer, France ordered 200,000 doses of Beyfortusfor 700,000 births. The treatment prevents severe forms of bronchiolitis. Due to a very strong epidemic during winter 2022, the campaign was more successful than expected, and pharmacies are already out of stock. Due to a lack of doses, some maternity hospitals are forced to sort eligible babies.
A reduction in serious forms
“We prioritized toddlers, those weighing less than 2.5 kg, children who are going to enter a house where there are toddlers who are in community, (…) and certain families who live in situations of significant precariousness“, explains Christèle Gras-Le-Guenpediatrician at Nantes University Hospital, responsible for supporting the deployment of Beyfortus In France. THE Beyfortus is not a vaccine, but a preventive treatment. It would be 85% effective on severe forms of the disease.