BOSTON (WHDH) - Governor Charlie Baker said the National Guard is standing by in case they need to help hospitals in Massachusetts deal with the spike in cases of the respiratory illness RSV.
“We’ve used the Guard before and they’ve been a terrific partner to our colleagues in the healthcare community and we’ll encourage them to help again,” said Baker. “I would urge people to get the shots that are available to them, you can get them pretty much anywhere.”
Thousands of children have contracted RSV recently, pushing hospitals across New England and the U.S. to capacity, with 71% of all pediatric beds full nationwide.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said most children catch RSV before the age of 2 and experience a few weeks of mild cold-like symptoms including a runny nose, decreased appetite, coughing, sneezing, fever and wheezing. Most children are able to recover with at-home care, but the virus can lead to more serious problems in younger children such as dehydration, trouble breathing and more serious illnesses such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
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