First RSV antibody treatment to protect all infants approved in the U.S.

Federal regulators on Monday approved a shot to protect healthy babies and some vulnerable toddlers against the respiratory ailment RSV, the leading cause of hospitalization among young children in the United States.

The preventive shot, called Beyfortus, isn’t a vaccine, but it works in a similar way, delivering a temporary shield of protection that lasts for a single winter respiratory virus season. It is made up of laboratory-brewed antibodies that block the virus from entering cells.