Episode Description RSV prevention now comes with options. Great news—until you have to decide who gets what, when, and how to make sure it actually happens. 🦠💉 In Part 2 of our conversation, infectious disease specialist Dr. Zain Chagla returns to the FindMyVaccine Podcast to take RSV prevention from the guideline page to the front lines. First up: timing really is everything. A baby born during RSV season may be best protected before leaving hospital. A baby born in July? Not so fast. Dr. Chagla explains why the goal isn’t simply to immunize at the earliest opportunity—it’s to line up the protection window with the infant’s period of greatest RSV exposure. Think less “ASAP” and more “right place, right season.” Then comes the big practical question: maternal vaccination or infant monoclonal antibody? We unpack gestational timing, the important two-week window before delivery, infant risk factors, family preference, local program availability—and why this conversation belongs in the birth plan, not as a surprise item at discharge. With multiple monoclonal antibody options now in the toolkit, we also ask: how do you actually choose one? Dr. Chagla walks through dosing, age and season indications, access, inventory and workflow considerations. And because guidelines always sound easier until an actual patient walks in, we put Zain through a special rapid-fire RSV rounds. ⚡ Four babies. Four different scenarios. No multiple-choice answers. A healthy baby born in July. A newborn delivered nine days after maternal RSV vaccination. A premature infant. A 14-month-old with chronic lung disease heading into season two. Dr. Chagla offers a practical way to explain risk without frightening parents or overselling protection. Finally, we finish with a Monday-morning checklist for clinicians. Because ultimately, the best RSV strategy isn’t necessarily the fanciest one. Learning Objectives By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to: Apply RSV seasonality to prevention timing, distinguishing the approach for infants born during versus outside peak RSV activity. Compare maternal RSV vaccination and infant monoclonal antibody strategies, considering gestational timing, infant risk, family preference and local program availability. Recognize situations where monoclonal antibody protection may still be appropriate, including insufficient time between maternal vaccination and delivery or increased infant risk. Evaluate practical factors involved in monoclonal antibody selection, including authorized indications, dosing, age, workflow, accessibility and second-season considerations. Apply RSV prevention recommendations to common real-world cases, including healthy infants, premature newborns and medically high-risk children. Counsel parents about RSV risk in a balanced and understandable way, setting realistic expectations about what preventive interventions can—and cannot—do. Identify practical system changes that can improve RSV prevention, #FindMyVaccine ️ #RSV #RSVPrevention #MonoclonalAntibodies #MaternalVaccination #PassiveImmunization #Pediatrics #InfectiousDiseases #NACI #PublicHealth #ClinicalPractice #VaccineEducation #NewbornHealth #CanadianHealthcare SUPPORTED BY AN IME GRANT FROM MERCK. About Dr. Zain Chagla HAMILTON, ON Dr.Zain Chagla, MD MSc MD, FRCPC is an associate professor at McMaster University, co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and a consultant in infection control at Woodstock General Hospital. Dr. Chagla is also a teacher at McMaster University where he won a clinician teaching award in internal medicine and a young investigator grant for his work in supporting undergraduate medical education at the University of Namibia. Dr. Chagla also has a Master of Science in infectious diseases and a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. As an infectious disease specialist, Dr.Zain Chagla has given media interviews on the COVID-19 pandemic and published several op-eds on testing, disease elimination, and public health interventions. He has contributed to local, provincial, and federal policy planning, and to several clinical trials on COVID-19 therapies. He has published works on COVID-19 research, epidemiology, testing, and infection control. He is involved with a prospective cohort study looking at respiratory physiology and radiologic features of patients post covid with persistent symptoms over time, including those with long covid and those who were critically ill.
RSV prevention now comes with options. Great news—until you have to decide who gets what, when, and how to make sure it actually happens. 🦠💉
In Part 2 of our conversation, infectious disease specialist Dr. Zain Chagla returns to the FindMyVaccine Podcast to take RSV prevention from the guideline page to the front lines.
First up: timing really is everything. A baby born during RSV season may be best protected before leaving hospital. A baby born in July? Not so fast. Dr. Chagla explains why the goal isn’t simply to immunize at the earliest opportunity—it’s to line up the protection window with the infant’s period of greatest RSV exposure. Think less “ASAP” and more “right place, right season.”
Then comes the big practical question: maternal vaccination or infant monoclonal antibody?
With multiple monoclonal antibody options now in the toolkit, we also ask: how do you actually choose one?
And because guidelines always sound easier until an actual patient walks in, we put Zain through a special rapid-fire RSV rounds. ⚡
Four babies. Four different scenarios. No multiple-choice answers.
Dr. Chagla offers a practical way to explain risk without frightening parents or overselling protection.
Finally, we finish with a Monday-morning checklist for clinicians. Because ultimately, the best RSV strategy isn’t necessarily the fanciest one.
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By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to:
#FindMyVaccine ️ #RSV #RSVPrevention  #MonoclonalAntibodies #MaternalVaccination #PassiveImmunization #Pediatrics #InfectiousDiseases  #NACI #PublicHealth #ClinicalPractice #VaccineEducation #NewbornHealth #CanadianHealthcare
SUPPORTED BY AN IME GRANT FROM MERCK.
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HAMILTON, ONÂ
Dr.Zain Chagla, MD MSc MD, FRCPC is an associate professor at McMaster University, co-medical director of infection control at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and a consultant in infection control at Woodstock General Hospital. Dr. Chagla is also a teacher at McMaster University where he won a clinician teaching award in internal medicine and a young investigator grant for his work in supporting undergraduate medical education at the University of Namibia.Â
Dr. Chagla also has a Master of Science in infectious diseases and a diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.Â
As an infectious disease specialist, Dr.Zain Chagla has given media interviews on the COVID-19 pandemic and published several op-eds on testing, disease elimination, and public health interventions. He  has contributed to local, provincial, and federal policy planning, and to several clinical trials on COVID-19 therapies. He has published works on COVID-19 research, epidemiology, testing, and infection control. He is involved with a  prospective cohort study looking at respiratory physiology and radiologic features of patients post covid with persistent symptoms over time, including those with long covid and those who were critically ill.
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