Scientists: COVID Restrictions Caused ‘Immunity Gap,’ Leading to Virus Uptick in Children

Cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other viruses are rising across the nation, and scientists are now saying the uptick is due to measures put in place during the pandemic that restricted immune development.

The phenomenon is called an “immunity gap,” and essentially happened when restrictions and practices that were common during the pandemic limited the spread of viruses, leading to less people developing immunity to them. When people re-entered society, the viruses were back, too.

Babies often receive antibodies for RSV through their mother’s breast milk, but even the mothers often weren’t exposed to RSV during lockdowns.

Scientists Dr. Kevin Messacar and Rachel Baker discussed the issue with CNN and wrote about it this summer in The Lancet.

“Although many infections and their associated morbidity and mortality were prevented by [non-pharmaceutical interventions], decreased exposure to endemic viruses created an immunity gap—a group of susceptible individuals who avoided infection and therefore lack pathogen-specific immunity to protect against future infection,” Messacar and Baker wrote. (Read more from “Scientists: COVID Restrictions Caused ‘Immunity Gap,’ Leading to Virus Uptick in Children” HERE)

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