Children’s hospitals across the country are seeing a rise in respiratory syncytial virus, a common illness in young people, and New York is not immune.

“We cannot meet the demand,” said Dr. Harry Miller, a Clifton Park-based pediatrician. “It’s just too high.”

Miller said there are a number of illnesses circulating right now, but he’s been keeping a watchful eye on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is reporting a 15% positivity rate of RSV.

“With COVID, it pushed off the seasonable nature of the virus,” Miller said. “In our area, it’s usually November to March, April.”

The illness may appear as a common cold in adults, but children and babies are more at risk for severe symptoms that may require a hospital stay.

“If your child looks like they’re having trouble breathing, if they’re breathing really fast or really hard or not able to not able to eat or drink, that’s a reason to reach out to your pediatrician and likely come to our emergency room,” said Dr. Patricia Hopkins, a professor of pediatrics at Albany Medical Center.

Health experts say RSV cases dropped dramatically during the height of the pandemic when schools were closed and mask requirements were common.

“We have a whole year worth of children who were never exposed to this virus,” Hopkins said. “So all the children who typically would’ve been getting this virus are getting it and all of their older siblings are getting it.”

Hopkins said there are about two dozen patients being treated for RSV at the hospital right now.

“In little babies less than 2 years of age, particularly babies less than 3 months, it can go down into the lungs and cause difficulty breathing,” Hopkins said.

With large clusters of children being hospitalized, Hopkins say occupancy is an issue hospitals across the country are dealing with.

“It’s a combination of the volume of patients that we’re seeing, as well as the fact that we are just beginning to ramp up nursing force again after the pandemic,” Hopkins said.

Miller says about 1% to 5% of children will likely be hospitalized with RSV, but is encouraging parents to remain calm as most children make strong recoveries.

“Just because you hear RSV is out there, don’t panic,” Miller said.