DALLAS — No matter how often they clean and sanitize, daycares this time of year are plagued with illness.
Early Care and Education is a school with multiple locations across the DFW area. They care for children from six weeks old through fifth grade.
Amanda Yarkho, director of operations, said Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) always happens around this time of year.
"Unfortunately, at all of our schools here in the metroplex, we have experienced cases of RSV," said Yarkho.
"[Babies] explore the world with their mouth, their hands and everything in between, so we are constantly just rotating toys, sanitizing, handwashing to keep all those germs at bay," Yarkho continued.
What Yarkho is seeing at her schools reflects what's happening at local hospitals too. On the week of Nov. 5, Children's Health saw 482 RSV cases. Cook Children's saw 372 RSV cases.
Dr. Marcial Oqueno with Guadalupe Medical Center in Dallas said it's been nonstop at his clinic.
"This whole week, I don't think I saw a single kid that wasn't sick with something, and the one that was most positive above all was RSV," said Dr. Oquendo.
He's seen the worst of the virus.
"I had a 4-month-old [patient] pass away last year and a 4-month-old pass away the year before that," Dr. Oquendo remembers.
It scares him every year RSV spikes.
"It's the virus that keeps pediatricians awake at night. If I had to choose between getting rid of RSV or COVID, I would get rid of RSV," said Dr. Oquendo.
With the new RSV vaccine, Dr. Oquendo said it provides hope to pediatricians who see an overwhelming number of RSV patients every year. He has already equipped Guadalupe Medical Center with the shot, and administered it to his most vulnerable patients.
Dr. Oquendo said children under the age of one often get the most severe RSV symptoms.
"We're using it mostly on the babies that we think have the highest risk," he said.
However, Dr. Oquendo said with the high cost paired with the high demand and shortage of the vaccine, it can be hard to track down.
When a new medicine rolls out, it often takes time to see the impact.
"There's a little bit of adoption, but I think in the pediatric world, we are super excited about having options," said Dr. Oquendo.
The RSV vaccine is one that Dr. Oquendo thinks will be life-changing.
"If we can save at least one family from having to go through that, I think it's worth it," he said.