U.S. Sees Lower Infant Death Rates in 2024, Thanks in Part to RSV Immunization

NEW YORK — After being stuck at a late-pandemic plateau for two years, the country’s baby mortality rate went down last year.

Some experts think that an effort to vaccinate against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, could be one reason for the drop. RSV is a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be dangerous for babies.

The national rate of infant deaths dropped to about 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, according to figures released Thursday by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s less than the four years before, when it was about 5.6 per 1,000 live births.

The CDC thinks that the results won’t change much when the full numbers come out later this year.

Birth rates for kids are used to figure out how many babies die before their first birthday. While the amount of babies born in the U.S. changes from year to year, rates are used to better compare infant mortality over time.

According to the CDC, the number of baby deaths in the U.S. dropped from about 20,150 in 2023 to about 19,900 last year.

The U.S. has a higher baby mortality rate than other high-income countries. This is because of poverty, poor prenatal care, and other issues. Still, the U.S. rate has gotten better over the years thanks to progress in medicine and public health measures.

The rate went up from 5.44 per 1,000 people in 2021 to 10 and 12 percent in 2022 and 2023. This was the first statistically significant rise in the rate in about 20 years. After two years of precautions during the pandemic, experts say that those years were marked by a rise in RSV and flu cases.

To protect babies from getting sick, U.S. health officials started suggesting two new steps in 2023. The first was giving babies a lab-made antibody shot that helps their immune systems fight off the virus. The second was giving pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks an RSV vaccine.

The improvement is likely due in part to that work, according to Dr. Amanda Williams, acting chief medical officer for the March of Dimes.

In a separate study released Thursday by the CDC, researchers said that during the 2024–25 respiratory virus season, more than 40% fewer babies were hospitalised than in the past.

“But more work needs to be done to tease out other reasons,” Williams said, adding that a lot of the progress made in 2024 was in babies who died at least one month old. That could mean that fewer people are dying from RSV or other reasons, like accidents, murder, or SIDS.