Published June 16, 2021
An article in Health on the rising incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) quotes Timothy Murphy, an infectious disease expert and director of UB’s Community Health Equity Research Institute. "RSV normally is seen in the late fall and wintertime," Murphy said. "It peaks in the winter and reduces dramatically in the springtime. But that didn't happen this year. It may be that RSV levels were low in the winter because of masking and reduced interactions among people - the virus wasn't transmitted as much.” “Now that the COVID-19 vaccine has been used more widely and people are resuming some sense of normalcy, the virus has more opportunity to pass from person to person,” according to the article. "Kids are going back to daycare,” Murphy said. “And families and folks are getting together more-that can cause RSV to spread.” The article was posted on numerous national and regional publications, including MSN.