C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH

Why skipping viral tests harms care: targeted RSV, flu, and COVID diagnosis guides prognosis, parent counseling, and prevention in infants.

Learn why RSV hits older adults hardest: cumulative comorbidities, global seasonality shifts, and how timing shapes vaccines and prophylaxis.

In this episode, Dr. Simões broadens the conversation on RSV risk to include older adults and a global perspective on disease burden. He explains that while pediatric risk factors center largely on medical conditions (as described by Dr. Creech), environmental and behavioral factors — such as daycare attendance, household crowding, and maternal smoking — also play an important role in children, particularly in lower-resource settings where malnutrition adds further vulnerability.

Welcome back to another Contemporary Pediatrics Peer Exchange series. In this episode titled "RSV Epidemiology: Understanding Regional Trends and At-Risk Pediatric Populations," moderator Flor M. Munoz, MD, MSc, discusses respiratory syncytial virus with C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, Eric Simões, MD, and Tina Tan, MD, FAAP, FIDSA, FPIDS.

C. Buddy Creech, MD, MPH, highlights advances in mRNA, monoclonals, adjuvants, and mucosal vaccines, stressing safety and parent communication.