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(NEW YORK) — After more than a year, children are emerging from the COVID-19 quarantine.

Family gatherings are back, and so are germs and other viruses. For young children, getting sick is a rite of passage that’s often short-lived and helps build up future immunities.

What is uncommon now is the time of year viruses common in children are finding a foothold.

In some parts of the country, hospitals have been reporting an unseasonable rise in viral infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For children younger than age 2, the most frequent is a lung infection causing temporary inflammation in the airways, called bronchiolitis, which is most often caused by respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

Cases among kids typically crop up in the fall and winter, when school is back in session and germs are easily shared, but experts said they’re seeing these cases now.

“The number of RSV cases is about the same,” Dr. Allison Bartlett, pediatric infectious disease doctor at the University of Chicago, told ABC News. “It’s the season that’s unusual.”

This period of time in summer is now being called “RSV season” because more than 1 out of 10 tests are positive for the virus, according to Bartlett.

Here’s what parents should know:

How to prevent RSV

For the general population, experts said kids can keep safe from RSV with the same health measures we’ve all been doing for more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic: Masking, social distancing and following good hygiene.

Teaching kids to practice “respiratory etiquette” and handwashing can help, along with keeping infants away from others who may have a respiratory infection already, according to Bartlett.

“Managing the COVID pandemic has reinforced for everyone the impact that masking, social distancing, school closure and staying home when you’re sick can have,” she said. “All of the actions we took to stop the spread of COVID effectively prevented RSV as well. Now that we have relaxed some of these strategies, RSV is back.”

Symptoms to watch for

Children with RSV may start to wheeze, develop a cough or congestion or spike a fever, the body’s natural response to fighting off a virus.

Parents may also notice their child has less of an appetite than usual, that they’re more tired and more irritable.

As parents and guardians monitor kids’ symptoms that can span several days, experts caution not to be alarmed if a child seems to worsen, even after starting to see mild improvements.

“Days four to seven of illness is really when the infection declares itself,” said Dr. Alisa McQueen, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the University of Chicago. “It’s common for many of the symptoms to almost resolve, and then suddenly come back.”

What to do if your child is sick

Most cases of bronchiolitis are very mild and can be managed at home with over-the-counter therapies and a little “TLC.”

Experts point out if a child is sick, but not in crisis, keeping them home, rather than seeking emergency medical care, may actually be safer and healthier for them and others. RSV is an extremely contagious virus that, after spreading by saliva and mucous droplets, can linger on surfaces far longer than many other viruses.

A several hours’ wait in the emergency department could expose a child to other, even more harmful pathogens, especially if their immune system is already weakened.

Many fevers will resolve without medication, but fever-reducing medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help.

If a child is having trouble blowing their nose and needs relief, cool mist humidifiers, manual suctioning devices, or thinning out the mucous with nasal saline drops will help o help drain easily from the nose, according to Dr. Tyree Winters, a New Jersey-based pediatrician.

But for a small number of infants and young children, RSV can be dangerous.

Approximately 1% to 2% of children who get RSV end up hospitalized. The virus accounts for around 58,000 hospitalizations each year for children under the age of 5 in the United States, according to the CDC.

If a child struggles with breathing beyond the point of congestion — episodes where they stop breathing, have faster breathing, use extra muscles to breath or start turning blue around the mouth — that’s a sign to seek medical attention.

The extra energy the body is using to fight the infection can often makes children sleepier and less active, but when a child is too tired to even drink, has stopped making diapers or cries without making any tears, these are all early signs of dehydration and might mean a child is too sick to fight this infection alone.

Gauging what level medical attention a child needs can be tricky, especially for an anxious parent, so when in doubt, seek help, experts say.

“If something doesn’t seem right, come in the emergency department and let us take a look,” said McQueen. “We’re here 24 hours a day for exactly this reason.”

In most cases, if a child is admitted to the hospital, the stay will only last a few days. These children are often placed on supplemental oxygen to make sure they are getting enough.

If a child has not been eating for several days already, the hospital can also help by giving them IV fluids until the child feels well enough to start eating and drinking normally again.

For infants at greater risk of severe illness, like those who were born premature, or those with chronic lung or congenital heart disease, a monthly antibody injection is available.

Chidimma J. Acholonu, M.D., MPH, a pediatric resident physician at University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital, is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — Americans who are fully vaccinated don’t need another shot, top U.S. health officials said late Monday following a private meeting with top executives at Pfizer, which says it had new data showing a third vaccine dose could boost the body’s antibody response five- to ten-fold.

The statements appear to close the door – at least for now – on the suggestion that people who were among the first to be vaccinated more than six months ago would once again need to line up for a third shot. One factor that could change that calculus is the emergence of new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.

“At this time, fully vaccinated Americans do not need a booster shot,” the Department of Health and Human Sciences said in a statement following the meeting with Pfizer.

Pfizer called its meeting with government health officials “productive” and said it would publish more “definitive data” in a peer-reviewed journal soon.

“Both Pfizer and the U.S. government share a sense of urgency in staying ahead of the virus that causes COVID-19, and we also agree that the scientific data will dictate next steps in the rigorous regulatory process that we always follow,” the company said in a statement released Tuesday.

The question of whether and when Americans might need a third shot has been an open question for months, as health experts noted that a person’s detectible antibodies wane over time and as new variants of the virus have emerged. But there are other parts of a person’s immune system, including T-cells, that doctors believe also play a major role in helping prevent hospitalization or death.

The first vaccine shots given in the U.S. were Pfizer doses to health care workers on Dec. 14 – some seven months ago.

But since then, ample real-world evidence has surfaced that vaccinated individuals are strongly protected from the virus and its currently known variants. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 99.5 percent of deaths from COVID-19 are among unvaccinated patients.

“Nearly every death, especially among adults, due to COVID-19, is, at this point, entirely preventable,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky last week.

On July 8, Pfizer announced it had “encouraging data” on the prospects of a third dose. The Pfizer vaccine is typically given in two doses, three weeks apart.

“Initial data from the study demonstrate that a booster dose given after 6 months of the second dose has a consistent tolerability profile while eliciting high neutralization titers, 5-10 times higher than after two primary doses” against variants of the virus, the company stated in an announcement.

“While protection against severe disease remained high across the full 6 months, the observed decline in efficacy against symptomatic disease over time and the continued emergence of variants are key factors driving our belief that a booster dose will likely be necessary to maintain highest levels of protection,” Pfizer said in its earlier statement.

After meeting with Pfizer officials, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, told CNN’s Chris Cuomo Monday night that it’s possible the government will recommend boosters eventually, possibly starting with older Americans or people with underlying medical conditions.

But Fauci said he doesn’t think boosters are needed just yet.

“We heard their data. We made it very clear their data is a part of a much larger puzzle, and we will be gathering data as the weeks go by,” Fauci said.

Fauci also noted that if a decision on boosters is made, “it will be based on a comprehensive study, not on the announcement of a pharmaceutical company.”

Fauci’s statement was a nod to the public confusion about the effectiveness of the vaccine after Pfizer announced it would recommend boosters.

“I don’t mean that in a derogatory way because it was a very good meeting, very informative. We exchanged information, and I think it’s an important step in the right direction,” he added.

In attendance were Drs. Fauci and Walensky, as well as acting FDA Administrator Janet Woodcock; Peter Marks, who has been leading FDA regulatory efforts on the vaccine; Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health; Biden COVID adviser David Kessler; and Rachel Levine, assistance secretary for Health at HHS.

ABC News’ Eric Strauss contributed to this report.

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(DAYTON, Ohio) — A COVID-19 outbreak has been reported among attendees of a church retreat, officials announced.

At least 30 positive cases have been identified so far in people who took part in the weeklong event, health officials confirmed.

Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health said more than 800 people attended the Baptist Church retreat at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg, Ohio, from June 27 to July 3. Visitors came to the event from churches across Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.

Dr. Michael Dohn, medical director for Dayton & Montgomery County Public Health, spoke out about his concern, stating: “Unvaccinated people, including children under 12 years of age, are up to 100 times more likely to get sick after exposure to COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated individuals.”

Dohn added: “the outbreak demonstrates that the COVID-19 virus is still circulating and continues to make people sick.”

The positive cases were so far identified in attendees from Ohio and Kentucky.

One person tested positive for COVID-19 during the final days of the retreat and was “immediately quarantined off campus,” Jason Harmeyer, President of the Chautauqua Camp and Conference Center said in a statement. Event organizers then proceeded to monitor individuals associated with that group for symptoms and conducted regular temperature checks.

Health officials investigating the outbreak said camp and event organizers had failed to provide contact information for attendees after the initial cases were recognized, so authorities were asking anyone who may have attended the retreat to contact them or their local health department.

The camp organizer said it was in regular contact with group leaders to take necessary precautions.

It is unknown how many attendees had received COVID-19 vaccinations.

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