Overview

• The study, published Aug. 6 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, tracked 174 American children under 10 across four academic centers from 2022 to 2023 through serial blood and respiratory sampling.
• Data confirmed that pandemic-era masking and distancing sharply reduced exposure and immune responses to endemic viruses including RSV, influenza and enterovirus D68.
• Following the lifting of non-pharmaceutical measures, children’s immunity rebounded across all pathogens, mirroring a broad post-pandemic resurgence of respiratory infections.
• Retrospective modeling of the 2022–23 data accurately predicted a 2024 EV-D68 outbreak, validating PREMISE’s forecasting approach.
• The nearly 1,000-sample repository will inform the rapid design of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to protect children against future respiratory virus threats.