Heading into the winter respiratory virus season, Kaiser Permanente has begun offering a relatively new vaccine to certain expecting moms to help protect their newborns against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

Although the virus usually causes only mild, cold-like symptoms, RSV can be particularly dangerous for infants, with 2-to-3 out of every 100 babies under 6 months old hospitalized annually, according to federal health officials.

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“It is one of the most common causes of hospitalization for infants under two years of life,” said Dr. Jenny Vesona-Murray, a local obstetrics and gynecology specialist at Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center.

Vesona-Murray explained that RSV can cause lower respiratory tract infections. Adults, she said, have the ability to “c

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