Have you all gotten your flu shot? What about your Covid booster? Please do if you haven’t yet. The reason the flu shot is so important this season is because not only is this predicted to be the worst flu season in 13 years, but it may help protect everyone in the spread of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). RSV is already here, unseasonably early, and filling up hospitals. Specifically children’s hospitals. Amy Schumer, who was this week’s host of Saturday Night Live, can attest that RSV is nothing to mess around with. Her three-year-old son, Gene Fisher, was hospitalized with the virus, causing her to miss rehearsals so she culd be with him. Fortunately, Gene is home now and on the mend.
Amy Schumer’s son Gene is on the mend after a bout with RSV.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the comedian and actress, 41, revealed that her son with husband Chris Fischer was hospitalized for RSV as she was juggling the demanding schedule of hosting Saturday Night Live this week.
“This was the hardest week of my life,” Schumer wrote alongside a series of behind-the-scenes photographs on the SNL set. “I missed Thursday rehearsals when my son was rushed to the ER and admitted for RSV. Shout out to all the parents going through this right now.”
Schumer then thanked the cast and crew of SNL for their flexibility as she managed her son’s illness on top of the responsibilities she had preparing to host the show. “I got to be with him the whole day at the hospital and the beautiful humans at @nbcsnl couldn’t have been more supportive,” she said, adding that Gene is now “home and better.”
As a reminder, RSV causes wheezing and heavy mucus in children, but it becomes a serious issue when their oxygen levels drop. And that’s when they need to go to the hospital. It’s a scary experience for everyone, especially right after we saw over 1 million Americans die of a respiratory virus during the last three years. My heart goes out to Amy and husband Chris Fisher watching Gene go through this. It’s such a helpless feeling when someone you love is suffering and there is nothing you can do to help them. I’m glad to hear SNL made it easy for her. I can only imagine the gamut of emotions Amy and Chris must have gone through.
Just to reiterate, RSV can be life-threatening to anyone. Kids five and under are most vulnerable for contracting the virus and being hospitalized. The next largest group at risk are adults over 65 who have a very high risk of death. And there is no vaccine. So keep sickies at home, wear masks and get the flu shot because the flu can exacerbate RSV symptoms.
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- LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 27: (L-R) Chris Fischer and Amy Schumer attend the Los Angeles premiere of “Only Murders In The Building” Season 2 at DGA Theater Complex on June 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 703486546, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Chris Fischer, Amy Schumer, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
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- LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 27: Amy Schumer attends the Los Angeles premiere of “Only Murders In The Building” Season 2 at DGA Theater Complex on June 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 703486572, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Amy Schumer, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
Photo credit: Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon and Instagram
Love to Gene, Amy and Chris. Thank you for posting this Hecate. RSV is a huge problem right now, childrens hospitals are overwhelmed and this (plus repercussions for flu and covid) are not being reported nearly enough.
My aunt caught RSV from her grandson earlier this year and it was awful. Super scary stuff.
Ugh, RSV is so scary. Daycare illnesses are hell. My 15 month old just went through 3 different illnesses (and throw in some molar teething in the middle) in a 2 week span. Luckily none of them were RSV (we had to have her tested when she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis). She’s back at daycare and I am still a wreck that we’ll get yet another call that she needs to be picked up.
I’m glad baby Gene is on the mend. So scary.
My poor child caught RSV as an infant in daycare and has been sickly ever since (years)
They’ve currently got a vaccine in human trials for adults. I only know because my mom is participating. Fingers crossed. Wishing a quick recovery to Gene!
Oh that’s good news! Good on your mother for helping.
I’m fully up to date on my covid vaccines and have gotten each booster as they became available. I also have my fall 2022 flu shot. I work on retail where nobody else on staff or management masks and hardly any customers wear masks, but continue with my N95. I still eat my lunch outside or in my own car during my 30 minute break. I noticed 4 days after Halloween a lot of the kids 10 amd under who came into the store had wet coughs (still no mask on them or their parents). I’ve beem told the pandic is over. Well, I have a friend currently in breast cancer treatment and another whose husband is on a waiting list for an organ transplant so he has to be healthy if someone dies and their organ becomes available for harvesting. I’m not f-cking around with covid. It amazes me that there are people out there who believe kids are sick from RSV *because* masking for 3 years “makes them weak” (?!?!?). That’s not how the immune syst works but okay.
TLDR: I’m fully vaccine updated and still mask even if society largely disregards covid, flu and masking.
Ditto. Still hermiting, too.
Respectfully, covid is not just a “respiratory virus”. It attacks all kinds of stuff in the body (most notably vascular systems) and there is an increasing body of evidence that is suggesting that catching covid leads to other illnesses–like RSV–hitting us harder. Here’s a good explanation of what might be happening:
https://mobile.twitter.com/FurnessColin/status/1589103107048624129
This is definitely still being studied, but imo it’s worth being cautious, particularly as we head toward the holidays and people throw whatever precautions they might have been continuing to the wind. Be careful out there, fellow readers! Masks, clean air, and distance are our friends, and while I want us all to have a good 2022 holiday season, I don’t want that to come at the cost of, say, a whole bunch of holidays two or three years down the line.
There’s a paediatric rsv season every year, just like there’s a flu season. One of the things that’s happening is all the cohorts are getting it at the same time. So not just 18 month olds but 6 month olds, 1.5 years, 2.5 year olds, 3.5 year olds. Our children’s hospital ICU in Ottawa Ontario was at 200% capacity recently. Plus influenza is circulating plus covid is hanging around. Medical officers of health are advising people to mask again and lots of people are. It’s not a mandate though, that brings out the worst in people. Regardless of covid or being told “the pandemic is over” it’s a good habit to mask & hand wash to prevent transmission of any respiratory germs. Or mask if you have the sniffles.
Home right now with my 8-month-old who’s got RSV and an ear infection (a common side effect). So far, it’s been fever, wet cough and intense congestion/thick snot, but we’re monitoring him for any breathing issues. It’s really scary and effects every child differently. It’s everrrrrywhere right now, I’m glad her son is ok!
There is a vaccine. High risk infants get shots for either 3 months or 6 months (it was about 17 years ago so I forget the details)
My twins were born at 27-weeks and they received the shots the first year.
The second year, insurance denied them. We went back and forth for 2 months. They finally approved them THE WEEK THEY ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL for 2 weeks with RSV.
Aetna. I will never forgive nor forget
RSV is NO JOKE! Im 40, got the flu shot two Wednesdays ago at work (teacher). That Friday I went to bed with a 101.4 fever that stayed through the weekend. I was so weak I drank little water and had a pounding headache wondering if it was flu vaccine symptoms or if flu caught me before the shot. The fever dipped Monday when I was able to go to clinic where negative COVID, strep, flu tests all pointed to what they suspected was RSV since I work with 7 year olds.
I’ve never had any illness I remember being so miserable. Every time some symptom let up another overtook. Monday morning when my fever dropped (on meds mind you) I was so happy but within a few hours I was unbearably decongested, they were concerned about my high blood pressure and I had a massive headache, by bedtime my fever was back to 100. Wednesday when the congestion started clearing I was having insane coughing fits so bad that was having nerve pain in my back, crying so hard my VISION blurred and eyes were red and crusting. Meanwhile, we have to find our own subs so I wasn’t resting either from the physical ailment that would keep me up or from all day texting subs to find to cover for me.😣 In fact, as I was scrambling for a sub to cover me for a field trip the next day I asked if our assistant could cover me and my boss was asking if I was sure I wasn’t going to be there (after I’d had a nonstop fever for 5 days!😒) Thursday I was coughing so hard not only were my ears, throat and chest sore but I would projectile vomit!😩 The fever didn’t come down to 98.5 until Friday morning and then on no meds until Sat.
This is my 2nd day back at work and it’s been rough with all the lingering deep chest coughing fits. I’m prone to bronchitis and laryngitis so they preemptively gave me antibiotics to prevent ear and sinus infection, steroids to stave off inflammation, and eye drops to prevent a conjunctivitis that is common with these symptoms. I am so tired and I really don’t have energy for much more than going to work and coming home. Now I’m concerned about being able to get my COVID booster in time. I was going to get it at Thanksgiving to be able to go home for Christmas. I haven’t been to my country since 2017 or seen my parents since they visited me in the US in Jan 2020. At this point, my immune system has taken a serious hit so I’m planning to mask up so I can avoid all the things if possible and be able to stay healthy for my booster and a trip home for Christmas. RSV may have been the worse thing I’ve had as an adult!😓
I just want to point out that there is a preventative injection out there that significantly mitigates the risk of RSV. It’s very expensive and generally not covered by insurance, though. My lung damaged preemie with a heart defect wasn’t considered high enough risk of RSV complications to have it covered by insurance, of course. What a country