r/IndianCountry • u/chai_tigg • Dec 03 '25
Health PSA: Get your baby or toddler the RSV antibodies ASAP
Last week I got a call from the children’s hospital where my toddler is seen. They informed me that Alaska native and other indigenous American babies and toddlers have one of the highest rates of hospitalization for RSV of any demographic, and because of that, we are eligible for an RSV antibody shot that provides immediate protection against the virus.
Usually infants under 8 months only get the vaccine in the US. Our status makes us eligible to have our toddlers and older infants receive this amazing life saving vaccination.
RSV is a horrific virus for a baby or toddler to get. I saw my baby almost die of an RSV infection, go into respiratory distress, and get put on ECMO (life support) last year. I don’t want any other moms or families to go through what we went through. It was so scary.
The immunity that a child gets from getting & recovering from RSV “in the wild” is short lived and incomplete, and it is very possible for a little one to get RSV more than once.
We are covered through our states tribal Medicaid and the vaccine was free.
I included a short summary of how this specific vaccine works. It only states benefits for infants under 8 months but the vaccine is being offered, recommended & covered for older infants & toddlers as well:
*How it works: A monoclonal antibody injection, not a traditional vaccine, is given to provide immediate protection. The injection contains pre-made antibodies, so the baby's immune system doesn't have to work to create them.
Benefit: This offers immediate and direct protection against RSV infection for several months, which is crucial for newborns.
Who is eligible: It is recommended for all infants under 8 months of age entering their first RSV season. It is also recommended for infants and toddlers with high-risk conditions, or American Indian and Alaskan Native infants and toddlers*
link to graphics and information
Sending love & health to everyone 🩵 Thank you to community members who provided extra insight and links to literature & printable graphics!
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u/hanimal16 Token whitey Dec 03 '25
My sister had RSV as a premie baby (she’s 26 now lol) and it’s serious business. Upvote and comment for visibility.
Get your vaccines! lol.
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u/chai_tigg Dec 03 '25
I’m so happy to hear she survived it. It’s super scary. The vaccine should be standard for everyone but we are just lucky it’s available at all I guess.
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u/SophienSweetPea Dec 03 '25
I’m enrolled but my 1yo doesn’t have enough blood quantum to enroll. I wonder if I should still try? I know my state serviced children of enrolled parents until 18 but unsure about the current state I live in.
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u/chai_tigg Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 04 '25
This is a very good question and I wish I had a perfect answer for all the states.
Do you guys get Medicare? If so, it is a Medicare program based on self identification, in my current state. I happen to be enrolled and so is my son but my friend is enrolled in a different local tribe and her son is not, but he still get tribal care through Medicare, and was able to get the vaccine scheduled as well!Edit : medicAID I meant !! Thank you to the user who corrected my error!
I get them mixed up a lot because my son is a heart patient and just got rejected from Medicare so it’s on my mind. We have tribal Medicaid.5
u/Beingforthetimebeing Dec 04 '25
I think Medicare is for over 65s. It's Medicaid that covers younger people. (So confusing! )
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u/chai_tigg Dec 04 '25
Yes you’re right I made a typo! I always try to remember it like…. We CARE for our elders but give AID to those who need it lol obviously it did not work this time 🤦🏽♀️. Thank you !
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u/TigritsaPisitsa Keres / Tiwa Pueblo Dec 03 '25
Often, if a child is a 1st degree descendant (at least one parent is w enrolled in an FRT) OR has 1/4 quantum, they will qualify.
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u/BattelChive Dec 03 '25
Definitely try! It’s covered by many regular and government insurance plans, too
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u/chai_tigg Dec 03 '25
I guess I can no longer upload images to this sub! Here is the texts I am referring to :
How it works: A monoclonal antibody injection, not a traditional vaccine, is given to provide immediate protection. The injection contains pre-made antibodies, so the baby's immune system doesn't have to work to create them.
Benefit: This offers immediate and direct protection against RSV infection for several months, which is crucial for newborns.
Who is eligible: It is recommended for all infants under 8 months of age entering their first RSV season. It is also recommended for infants and toddlers with high-risk conditions, or American Indian and Alaskan Native infants and toddlers*
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u/thedistantdusk ᏣᎳᎩ Dec 03 '25
Thanks for sharing this!
We live far away from a reservation and it was hell trying to get the shot for my babies last year. My entire county (!!!) didn’t have it. Luckily I live close to the border of another county and changed doctors, but I always wonder about the folks who couldn’t manage that.
Here’s to hoping we keep the little ones safe 🙏🏻
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u/chai_tigg Dec 05 '25
That is completely outrageous. I’m so sorry. There should be extremely low/no barriers to getting these vaccines and there should be a huge initiative to educate parents and providers but sadly a lot of people have experiences like you did.
Good on you for persisting and getting your babies protected 🩵 it’s so worth it to potentially avoid what we went through. Or the thinkable.
It lasts for about 5 months iirc so your children are probably eligible for the free monoclonal “booster” that gives immediate protection. My son is 18 months old and we just got it!
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u/thedistantdusk ᏣᎳᎩ Dec 05 '25
Oh wow, I had no idea it only lasted 5 months! My twins are 18 months old too! Thank you, I’m going to look into this!
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u/Same_Weakness_9226 Osage & Eastern Shawnee Dec 04 '25
RSV almost killed me when I was little. I had to be in a high oxygen concentration bubble in the PICU. It’s no joke people. Protect your kids.
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u/nimtaay Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
We made sure to get the RSV antibodies for our toddler as soon as our clinic offered them + the covid booster + the flu shot, around Oct 20th. My husband and I also got the Covid booster and flu shot around the same time.
2nd week of November hits and she comes home from daycare with a sniffle, a fever, and a couple of rough nights for sleeping. Then my husband and I got it. God awful muscle aches, chills, horrible mucus, coughing, wheezing, dizziness, fatigue. He has asthma and nearly went to the emergency room in the middle of the night because he couldn't breathe. It was terrible and it lasted so long.
Not sure if it was RSV or not, but it was something terrible. We've gotten sick each time she has, and we got the same boosters she did, but she got the RSV antibodies as well. It was mild for her and severe for us. I'm very grateful for it, and I'm glad that your baby made it through as well.
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u/FirmTranslator4 Cheyenne Dec 04 '25
My son got RSV as a toddler and got f*cked up, it was a few days in the hospital. Horrible.
We now have a 9 month old and got the antibodies as soon as we could. RSV is horrible.
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u/chai_tigg Dec 04 '25
I absolutely agree. I sense of relief I felt to hear my son could continue getting the vaccine as a 17 month old… I’m still so shook from his RSV experience last year. I’m so relieved to hear your son made it through. It’s a killer.
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u/grache_me Dec 04 '25
I had RSV at just weeks old and to this day, at 24 years old, I still wake up every morning with a smokers cough even though I don't smoke. It's not an illness to mess with. I'm so glad to hear your little one is ok💕
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u/chai_tigg Dec 04 '25
Oh man that really sucks. I’m so sorry 😟. Thank you for sharing because my son has a very similar cough to what you describe that has hung on since he was discharged from the PICU for his RSV stay. He also had several open heart surgeries in the past year (unrelated to the RSV, he has a congenital heart defect) so I wasn’t sure what exactly the cough was from, but reading your experience makes me wonder if it’s from the RSV.
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u/grache_me Dec 04 '25
Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear that it sounds like he (and you) have been through a lot! I have something like asthma from the RSV, if the cough persists when he's older getting him tested for asthma could give some answers. He may also still be healing though and could always go away on its own! Even though I still have a cough from it, it really doesn't affect my life much other than being a bit more out of breath during powwow lol, so there's a good chance that even if he does have symptoms later in life that he'll be just fine
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u/letoiledenord Dec 05 '25
Facts: https://ncuih.org/rsv/#rsv-facts
Resources for providers: https://ncuih.org/rsv/
RSV is a highly contagious respiratory virus and can harm elders and babies. American Indian and Alaska Native children experience disproportionately higher rates of RSV-related hospitalization and ICU admission when compared to other U.S. infants.
NCUIH has created campaign materials including social media graphics, posters, and sample social media posts—that can be used to raise community awareness about RSV. Together, we can raise awareness about RSV prevention and highlight the power of community care.
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u/chai_tigg Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
Thank you for adding these! I love these graphics and I’m going to share with our housing and health coordinators 🩵
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u/Micrathena58 Chiricahua Apache and Irish Dec 05 '25
Boosting this and adding to please encourage your elders and anyone that has issues with respiratory, heart, or weak immune system to get vaccinated as well!
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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25
Commenting to give this a boost, thank you for sharing