“Lopman, an infectious disease epidemiologist now at Emory University, was living in London when his son got sick. It was 2008, five years before the United Kingdom approved a vaccine to prevent the highly contagious virus.”

“The virus — which is spread by hands touching an infected surface, then touching the mouth — used to be a major cause of severe illness among babies and young children in the U.S., responsible for more than 200,000 emergency room visits, up to 70,000 hospitalizations and dozens of deaths each year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.”

“Data from WastewaterScan, an academic program through Stanford University in partnership with Emory University, shows the virus has been surging since January, with levels continuing to increase in certain parts of the U.S., including the West and the Midwest.”

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 40,000 to 50,000 hospitalizations among infants and young children are prevented every year due to the vaccines, which are given starting at 2 months of age.”