Episodes

  • TWiV 1217: Alternative vax and pandemic origins

    TWiV 1217: Alternative vax and pandemic origins
    May 11 2025

    TWiV reviews new CBER chief at FDA, ending of Gates Foundation in 2045, gain of function executive order, origins of bat viruses ancestral to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, and single dose Sudan virus replicon vaccine protects guinea pigs from disease.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • Prasad replaces Marks at FDA (US News)
    • Gates Foundation ends 2025 (Gates Foundation)
    • Gain of function Executive Order (White House)
    • DURC policy (HHS)
    • Origins of bat viruses ancestral to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 (Cell)
    • Sudan virus replicon vaccine (Nat Comm)
    • Letters read on TWiV 1217
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
    Weekly Picks

    Rich – Andor Season 2
    Alan – Sequencing Mendel’s pea plant traits, and a good Science news article on the work
    Vincent – 2023 summer warmth unparalleled over the past 2,000 years

    Listener Pick

    Brian – Virology Capabilities Test (VCT): A Multimodal Virology Q&A Benchmark

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

    Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    1 hr and 53 mins
  • TWiV 1216: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    TWiV 1216: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
    May 10 2025
    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello bemoan the attack on science within the US, salt water controls for vaccines, return to 1938 technology for flu vaccines, mRNA vaccines as “bioweapons”, rise in pertussis, benefits of the shingles vaccine and reduced dementia occurrence, and growing measles outbreak globally before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the WasterwaterScan dashboard, the May 22 VRBPAC COVID-19 vaccine, meeting, where to find PEMGARDA, return to antibiotic treatment for respiratory viral diseases, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Saline placebo control testing for new vaccines….not good chemistry! (Washington Post)1940s innovation: HHS, NIH Launch Next-Generation Universal Vaccine Platform for Pandemic-Prone Viruses(US Department of Health and Human Services)WHAT! Minnesota Bill Against Vaccines Promotes Disinformation (Medscape Medical News) )Guns= fine….mRNA =mRNA Bioweapons Prohibition Act; mRNA injections and products designated as weapons of mass destruction, and mRNA injections and products prohibited. (Minnesota Legislature) Bioweapons of massive destruction mNRA not bombs or drones….but mRNA! (Minnesota Legislature)2024 Provisional pertussis surveillance report (CDC)Pertussis cases by year 1922-2023 (CDC: Whooping cough (pertussis)) Deaths by pertussis: 6 children under a year old (CDC)Pertussis (WHO)Symptoms of pertussis (CDC Whooping Cough (Pertussis)With whooping cough cases on the rise, a doctor explains how to protect yourself and others (CNN) Live zoster vaccination and cardiovascular outcomes (European Heath Journal)Shingles vaccine recipients see lower cardiac event risk (CIDRAP)H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation (CDC: Avian Influenza Bird flu)Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)Measles 800 in Texas…. (Texas Health and Human Services)2025 Measles outbreak guidance (New Mexico Health)Measles and rubella weekly monitoring report: (Government of Canada)Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg) Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC) Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles (CDC: Measles Rubeola)Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)CDC reports 216 child deaths this flu season (AP News)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) FDA-CDC-DOD: 2025-2046 influenza vaccine composition (FDA)RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)Impact of Nirsevimab on RSV and Non-RSV Severe Respiratory Infections in Hospitalized Infants (Influenza and other respiratory viruses)Hospital admissions of respiratory infections in infants plunge with nirsevimab RSV antibody(CIDRAP)Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)COVID-19 deaths (CDC)COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)Early effectiveness of the BNT162b2 KP.2 vaccine against COVID-19 in the US Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (Nature Commications)Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States (CDC: COVID-19)COVID-19 vaccine VRBPAC May 22 (FDA)Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)Infusion center (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)Time to antiviral treatment in mild–moderate COVID-19 in the emergency department(Internal and Emergency Medicine) Delays in COVID antiviral receipt raised risk of poor outcomes after ED visits by 18%, data suggest(CIDRAP)Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)When your healthcare ...
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    50 mins
  • TWiV Special: A shot of HepB with Thomas Tu

    TWiV Special: A shot of HepB with Thomas Tu
    May 6 2025

    From the 2024 International Hepatitis B virus meeting in Chicago IL, Rich Condit speaks with Thomas Tu about his experiences as a both a HepB scientist and patient.

    Host: Rich Condit

    Guest: Thomas Tu

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • Hepatitis B Foundation
    • Tu Laboratory
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

    Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    25 mins
  • TWiV 1215: What's the worst that could happen?

    TWiV 1215: What's the worst that could happen?
    May 4 2025

    TWiV reviews universal vaccine initiative at NIAID, shut down of the Integrated Research Facility at Ft. Detrick, modeling the reemergence of infectious diseases as vaccination rates drop, and bacterial outer membrane vesicles bound to bacteriophages modulate neutrophil responses to bacterial infection.

    Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Jolene Ramsey

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • ASV 2025
    • Paul has Measles (YouTube, virology blog)
    • Universal vaccine project (NIAID, CIDRAP)
    • Measles update (US, Texas)
    • Integrated Research Lab closed (Telegraph)
    • Modeling reemergence of infectious diseases (JAMA)
    • Outer membrane vesicles attached to phage (Front Cell Inf Micro)
    • Pf phage review (Front Immunol)
    • Letters read on TWiV 1215
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
    Weekly Picks

    Alan – A Paradise Built in Hell, by Rebecca Solnit (and here’s my review of it)
    Jolene – Virology course student communication projects, Spring 2025
    Vincent – Vaccine Education Center

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

    Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
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    2 hrs and 2 mins
  • TWiV 1214: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    TWiV 1214: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
    May 3 2025
    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello bewail the attack on science within the US and withdrawal from the global health communities, association between the shingles vaccine and reduced dementia occurrence, ending of Uganda’s ebola outbreak, undermining effective responses to human bird flu infections, growing measles outbreak in the US and dire predictions of the return of vaccine preventable diseases including polio if vaccination rates continue to decline, before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections the WasterwaterScan dashboard, how HHS is undermining the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, if Paxlovid reduces stroke, where to find PEMGARDA, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Lab animal RIFFing (NY Times)Herpes zoster vaccination and dementia occurrence(JAMA)The recombinant shingles vaccine is associated with lower risk of dementia (Nature Medicine)Uganda declares end to latest ebola outbreak (Reuters)Enhancing the response to avian influenza in the US and globally (LANCET: Regional Health-Americas)H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation (CDC: Avian Influenza Bird flu)Measles Update — United States, January 1–April 17, 2025 (CDC: MMWR)Measles in Europe……..but greater in the US (CIDRAP)Measles – Annual Epidemiological Report for 2024 (ECDC: European Center for Disease Prevention and Control) Measles (ECDC: European Center for Disease Prevention and Control)Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)Measles 800 in Texas…. (Texas Health and Human Services)2025 Measles outbreak guidance (New Mexico Health)On the precipice of disaster’: Measles may be endemic in 25 years if vaccine uptake stays low, model predicts (CIDRAP)Modeling Reemergence of Vaccine-Eliminated Infectious Diseases Under Declining Vaccination in the US (JAMA)Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg) Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC) Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles (CDC: Measles Rubeola)Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts(ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) 200 children die from flu (CIDRAP)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) FDA-CDC-DOD: 2025-2046 influenza vaccine composition (FDA)RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)COVID-19 deaths (CDC)COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)Health secretary RFK Jr. declares certain vaccines have ‘never worked,’ flummoxing scientists…..what certain vaccines?(STAT News)More FDA uncertainty roils full approval for Novavax COVID vaccine (CIDRAP) FDA Punts on Major Covid-19 Vaccine Decision After Ouster of Top Official (WSJ)U.S. health officials inject new uncertainty into approval process for Covid boosters (STAT News)Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States (CDC: COVID-19)Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)Infusion center (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID SocietyWhat to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)When your healthcare provider is infected/exposed with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)Into the Unknown: Practical Remdesivir Restriction in the Era of Widespread SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity (CID) Tocilizumab and IVIG experience during the service follow-up in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia(Rev Insti MedTrop Sao Paulo)Daniel Griffin’s ...
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    49 mins
  • TWiV Special: A shot of HepB with Chari Cohen

    TWiV Special: A shot of HepB with Chari Cohen
    Apr 29 2025

    From the 2024 International Hepatitis B virus meeting in Chicago IL, Rich Condit speaks with Chari Cohen about her work as President of the Hepatitis B Foundation.

    Host: Rich Condit

    Guest: Chari Cohen

    Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email

    Become a patron of TWiV!

    Links for this episode
    • Support science education at MicrobeTV
    • Hepatitis B Foundation
    • Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

    Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

    Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

    Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.
    Show More Show Less
    23 mins
  • TWiV 1213: Secrets of HepB cccDNA

    TWiV 1213: Secrets of HepB cccDNA
    Apr 27 2025

    TWiV reviews new committee of experts to counter vaccine misinformation, resignation of NSF Director, dependence of immune response to rabies virus on the gut microbiome, and a nucleosome switch primes hepatitis B virus infection.

    Show notes coming soon.
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    2 hrs and 5 mins
  • TWiV 1212: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

    TWiV 1212: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
    Apr 26 2025
    In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin with Vincent Racaniello deplore the US’s withdrawal from the global health community for pandemic preparedness i.e. the universal avian flu vaccine, and undermining the use of routine childhood vaccinations for pertussis and measles, RFK’s autism registry, yellow fever outbreak in Colombia and world immunization week after discussing the squirrel as the reservoir host for mpox, before Dr. Griffin reviews recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections the WasterwaterScan dashboard, how immunity elicited by the RSV vaccine wanes in 3 years, if Paxlovid reduces stroke, where to find PEMGARDA, provides information for Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, if vaccination impacts long COVID and if long COVID were to become epidemic. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode The American Public’s Disengagement With Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI): Considerations for Vaccination and Dietary Changes(American Public Health Association)New agreement geared toward universal avian flu vaccine (CIDRAP)Cambridge’s DIOSynVax and Singapore’s ACM Biolabs to advance pandemic-ready universal bird flu vaccine with international support (GlobeNewswire)Bird flu continues to spread among live poultry markets after shut down order (CRAIN’S New York Business)Fire-footed rope squirrels (Funisciurus pyrropus) are a reservoir host of monkeypox virus (Orthopoxvirus monkeypox)(Research Square)It is a squirrel! An animal source of mpox emerges(Nature)Whooping cough spikes, especially among unvaccinated teens (NBC News)A February flu surge has arrived (NCB News) Pertussis Cases by Year (1922-2022)(CDC: Whooping cough (pertussis))) ‘Fighting to breathe’: Whooping cough surges as vaccination rate falters (NBC News)CDC cancels measles help for Texas schools amid staff layoffs (HealthDay)Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)Measles in Texas…. (Texas Health and Human Services)Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg) 2025 Measles outbreak guidance (New Mexico Health)Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC) Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola))Measles (CDC: Measles Rubeola)Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM)Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts(ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America)Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine)RFK Jr.’s autism registry plan (Axios)RFK Jr’s autism study collecting Americans’ private medical records (Guardian)The public’s views on measles outbreaks and misinformation (KFF) Colombia National Emergency: yellow fever cases (Gov.Co) World Immunization Week: polio eradiation?(GPEI)Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) 200 children die from flu (CIDRAP)Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView) FDA-CDC-DOD: 2025-2046 influenza vaccine composition (FDA)RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection)Trial shows waning efficacy of RSV vaccine across 3 seasons in older adults(CIDRAP) Efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of the AS01E-adjuvanted respiratory syncytial virus prefusion F protein vaccine (RSVPreF3 OA) (LANCET: Respiratory Medicine)Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)COVID-19 deaths (CDC)COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC)COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC)SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain)Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUA for the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD)Infusion center (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC)NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH)Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool)Long-term stroke and mortality risk reduction associated with acute-phase paxlovid use in mild-to-moderate COVID-19(Journal of Medical Virology) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC)When your healthcare provider is infected/exposed with SARS-CoV-2 (CDC)Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC)Steroids, dexamethasone at the right time (OFID) Anticoagulation guidelines (hematology.org)Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices ...
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    48 mins