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Why "Young and Healthy" Doesn't Mean Zero Risk
Description
Dr. Christine Palmay pushes back on a common assumption heading into fall respiratory season: that being young and healthy means vaccines don't really matter. She explains why that risk is lower, not absent, and what changes once flu, COVID, and RSV start circulating through Canadian households.
She points to research on large public gatherings, the kind where crowds pack together for hours, and the noticeable rise in infectious disease that follows. It's a pattern that plays out every fall as families gather indoors for the holidays, mixing generations under one roof.
Dr. Palmay also shares a Canadian polling number that reframes the whole hesitancy conversation: a large majority say they'd get vaccinated if they understood the cardiovascular risks tied to these illnesses. The gap isn't belief, she argues, it's information.
Topics: respiratory illness season, vaccine hesitancy Canada, RSV pneumococcal COVID, preventative health fall, cardiovascular risk
GUEST: Dr. Christine Palmay | @dr.christine.palmay
Originally aired on 2026-09-18