Amid a surprisingly severe flu season and a Covid-19 resurgence, those highly contagious respiratory illnesses are drawing the largest share of media coverage and public attention. But it is also the season for another respiratory illness, respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, and RSV cases are “elevated in many areas of the country,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
RSV data for the week of Jan. 5, 2026, show an increase both in emergency department visits and hospital admissions for children up to age four, according to CIDRAP , the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, at the University of Minnesota. And the Pan American Health Organization issued a Jan. 10 epidemiological alert warning RSV activity “is showing a gradual upward trend,” which, combined with flu cases, “could further strain health systems.”
RSV, a common respiratory illness, usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms , but is the leading cause of hospitalization among infants in the United States. Most RSV infections go away on their own, but RSV can be severe, especially for babies, young children, and older adults. The CDC estimates that more than 100,000 older Americans are hospitalized annually with RSV, as well as 58,000 or more infants and young children .
In mid-2023, U.S. health authorities approved two types of immunizations for RSV – vaccines for older adults and for pregnant people to protect their newborns; and a monoclonal antibody injection for newborns and infants.
In a nationally representative panel survey conducted Nov. 17-Dec. 1, 2025, the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania found an increase in awareness of immunizations that are available for RSV. The survey of 1,637 U.S. adults also found that about 6 in 10 respondents would recommend the vaccine or antibody injections to the groups recommended by the CDC, an increase from past years. See the topline for the data.
The rises both in public familiarity with the RSV immunizations and recommending them come as U.S. health officials under longtime vaccine critic and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cut the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations and increased scrutiny of vaccines long-established as safe and effective.
Beginning in 2023, the CDC recommended RSV immunization for newborns and infants – either through a maternal RSV vaccine given to those who are pregnant during their 32 nd -36 th weeks or through a monoclonal antibody injection given to newborns and infants born during RSV season, typically October through March.
On Jan. 5, 2026, after this survey was conducted, U.S. health authorities cut the number of regular childhood vaccinations to 11 from 17. As a non-vaccine antibody product, RSV immunization is not part of this count, although health officials presented it as a tool that was also now being reserved for high-risk groups. An HHS spokesman, however, told the Washington Post that these high-risk groups include all otherwise healthy children whose mothers were not vaccinated against RSV during pregnancy. This effectively means the RSV guidelines did not change for newborns: Either those who are pregnant should be vaccinated during their pregnancy or their infants should get the monoclonal antibody injection.
The CDC also recommends the antibody injection for certain young children (ages 8 to 19 months) who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease.
The CDC recommends RSV vaccination for adults 75 and older and people 50-74 years old who are at increased risk for severe RSV, if they did not get an RSV vaccine last year.
The survey finds different levels of familiarity with the immunizations for different groups, but all have increased from 2023 when the immunizations were first introduced:
The vaccine for older adults : The survey finds that a majority of adults (56%) are aware there is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved vaccine against RSV for older adults, up from 42% in October 2023, only months after CDC first recommended this treatment, in May 2023. In 2025, 39% are unsure whether there is a vaccine, compared with 53% unsure in October 2023.
The maternal vaccine to protect newborns : The survey also finds greater familiarity with the RSV vaccine for pregnant people, as compared with an August 2023 survey, when the vaccine first became available. In the current survey, 38% say there is an FDA-approved vaccine against RSV for pregnant people to protect their infants, up from 12% in August 2023. However, the percentage familiar with this vaccine was eight points higher in September 2024 at 46%, so the current figure represents a recent decline.
A majority of Americans say they would be likely to recommend the RSV vaccine for older adults and those who are pregnant and the monoclonal antibody injection for infants, as the CDC has recommended:
“It’s encouraging to see the increase in the likelihood of recommending the RSV vaccine to people who are pregnant or the monoclonal antibody to parents of newborns and infants,” said Ken Winneg, managing director of survey research at APPC. “It’s important for OB-GYNs, pediatricians, and public health officials to communicate the value of these immunizations.”
Most U.S. adults say that getting the RSV vaccine is safer than getting RSV:
The survey data come from the 26 th wave of a nationally representative panel of U.S. adults conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center by SSRS , an independent market research company. Wave 26 (n=1,637) of the Annenberg Science and Public Health Knowledge (ASAPH) survey was fielded Nov. 17-Dec. 1, 2025, and has a margin of sampling error (MOE) of ± 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number and may not add to 100%. Combined subcategories may not add to totals in the topline and text due to rounding.
Download the topline and the methods reports .
The policy center has been tracking the American public’s knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding vaccination, Covid-19, flu, RSV, and other consequential health issues through this survey panel since April 2021. APPC’s ASAPH survey team includes research analyst Laura A. Gibson; Patrick E. Jamieson, director of APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute; and Ken Winneg, managing director of survey research.
See other recent Annenberg health survey news releases:
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