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Vermont hospitals tackle RSV surge, with flu season around the corner

Blood sample positive with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
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Vermont hospitals are experiencing an increase in RSV cases this year, after many children weren't exposed during the peak COVID-19 years.

Vermont’s hospitals inundated with cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The virus is especially hard on young kids.

This hour, host Mikaela Lefrak speaks with a pediatric critical care doctor about this year’s surge in RSV cases, ahead of what is expected to be a tough flu season. We’ll also hear from a school nurse on what he is experiencing in the wake of most COVID-19 protocols being been dropped in schools.

Our guests are:

  • Dr. Rebecca Bell, pediatric critical care doctor at University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and president of the Vermont chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Clayton Wetzel, school nurse at Waitsfield Elementary School and a member of the Vermont State School Nurses Association's executive committee

Broadcast live on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or tweet us @vermontedition.

Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here and Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Tedra worked on Vermont Edition as a producer and editor from 2022 to 2024.