RSV Monoclonal Antibody (Beyfortus) UPDATE!
Sign-up on Portal ONLY for infants UNDER 5kg (11lb)
Beyfortus is an immunization recommended for infants (birth to 12mo) to prevent RSV, which can cause severe respiratory disease in this age group. It is also recommended for children at higher risk of disease up to 24 months of age. The Beyfortus treatment comes in different dosages for infants that is based on weight:
- Children weighing under 5kg (11lb) get a low dose
- Children weighing 5kg (11lb) or more get a higher dose
As Beyfortus is a brand new immunization, it appears that some health insurance companies will cover it, but others may not. The cost of the injection is $700, and we will be requiring interested families to sign a waiver form assuming responsibility for this cost if not covered by insurance.
For those babies weighing under 5kg (11lb) we strongly encourage parents to log-on to the portal to submit the RSV Waiver form. Please follow the following steps to submit the waiver via the online patient portal:
1) Log-on to your patient portal
2) Click “Forms” and then “View” next to the child that is eligible for Beyfortus based on the above stated criteria
3) Click “New Form” (top right)
4) Select “RSV Waiver Form” from the drop-down menu
5) Complete all fields of the form, sign at the bottom, and click “Submit”
You should then hear from a member of our staff within 7 business days.
If you do not have a patient portal account for your child, please call CMA bookkeeping directly at 703-691-7992 to register.
Unfortunately, the manufacturer of Beyfortus (Sanofi) has informed us that they are NOT likely to be able to supply any more of the higher dose for children weighing 5kg (11lb) or more this year. Additionally, due to this shortage we received only a fraction of the amount that we ordered from Sanofi for this dosage.
We will continue to be in close touch with Sanofi representatives to do everything we can to advocate for these children and order more. In the meantime, if your child weighs 5kg (11lb) or more, we request that you NOT submit the RSV waiver through the portal since we cannot currently schedule any more children for this dosage. For those families that have already submitted an RSV waiver we will be in touch separately.
If we receive any information about the availability of more doses for these children we will send out an email ASAP, so please keep in touch with these messages to stay informed!
Please do not call the office directly, as our front desk team does not have access to this information.
COVID vaccines at CMA are now available for kids under 5 years old!
The CDC and FDA have approved the use of an updated monoclonal COVID vaccine to provide protection against the current circulating strains of the virus in our community. The updated COVID vaccine is recommended for all individuals 6 months of age and older.
Parents of children from 6 months of age up until the age of 5 years old can call the office to schedule! In a few weeks COVID vaccine scheduling will be possible on the portal as well.
We have the updated Pfizer monoclonal COVID vaccine and are scheduling vaccine appointments now in our Alexandria office only.
COVID vaccine boosters are recommended for all children unless they have had a previous serious allergic reaction to a COVID vaccine. If your child has received COVID vaccines already, it is essential that you know the manufacturer (e.g. Pfizer, Moderna, etc) AND the date of the last vaccine your child received.
Without this information we cannot schedule the next vaccine!
Please monitor your email as we will be sending out information with updates!
The updated booster vaccine may already be available for some age groups at local pharmacies, especially for children 5 years of age and older.
Please see the following links for additional information regarding this updated COVID vaccine:
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-vaccine-recommendations-9-12-2023.html