In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses an update on vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks, how the dream of wiping out polio might need a rethink, risk of death in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 vs seasonal Influenza in fall-winter, French Mpox cluster includes fully vaccinated patients, two individuals with potential Mpox virus reinfection, epidemiologic and clinical features of Mpox-associated deaths, FDA authorizes changes to simplify use of bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 during Omicron variant predominance among infants born to people with SARS-CoV-2, severe maternal morbidity and mortality of pregnant patients with COVID-19 infection during the early pandemic period in the US, sickness presenteeism in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, ventilation improvements among k–12 public school districts, risk factors and vectors for SARS-CoV-2 household transmission, SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies after bivalent versus monovalent, durability of bivalent boosters against Omicron subvariants, Nirmatrelvir and risk of hospital admission or death in adults with COVID-19, evolving real-world effectiveness of monoclonal antibodies for treatment of COVID-19, effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support–free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, efficacy and safety of Anakinra plus standard of care for patients with severe COVID-19, higher dose corticosteroids in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 who are hypoxic but not requiring ventilatory support, risk of autoimmune diseases in patients with COVID-19, definition of post–COVID-19 condition among published research studies, and sleep disturbance severity and correlates in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. 

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Links for this episode

• Update on vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks (CDC)
• The dream of wiping out polio might need a rethink (NPR)
• Risk of death in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 vs influenza (JAME)
• French mpox cluster includes fully vaccinated patients (CIDRAP)
• Two individuals with potential Monkeypox reinfection (The Lancet)
• Epidemiologic and clinical features of Mpox-associated deaths (CDC)
• FDA authorizes changes to simplify use of Bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (FDA)
• Omicron variant predominance among infants born to people with SARS-CoV-2 (Pediatrics)
• Severe maternal morbidity and mortality of pregnant patients with COVID-19 (JAMA) 
• Sickness presenteeism in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic (ICHE)
• Ventilation improvements among K–12 public school districts (CDC)
• Risk factors and vectors for SARS-CoV-2 household transmission (The Lancet)
• SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies after bivalent vs monovalent (The Lancet)
• Durability of bivalent boosters against Omicron subvariants (NEJM)
• Nirmatrelvir and risk of hospital admission or death in adults with COVID-19 (BMJ)
• Real world effectiveness of Monoclonal Antibodies for treatment of COVID-19 (AIM)
• Study on ACE inhibitor and ARB effect on COVID-19 patient outcomes (JAMA)
• Efficacy and safety of Anakinra plus standard of care for patients with severe COVID-19 (JAMA)
• High-dose corticosteroids in non-ventilated COVID-19 patients with hypoxia (The Lancet)
• Risk of autoimmune diseases in patients with COVID-19 (eClinical)
• Definition of post–COVID-19 condition (JAMA)
• Sleep disturbance severity and correlates in Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (JGIM)
• Contribute to our ASTMH fundraiser at PWB
• Letters read on TWiV 1001
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

The entire TWiV team gathers at a theatre in New York City to celebrate a milestone in science podcasting, to reminisce how they joined the show, and to play a game of TWiV Jeopardy.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, Brianne Barker, Daniel Griffin, and Angela Mingarelli

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Links for this episode

• TWiV #1: West Nile virus
• TWiV #100: TWiV catches a big fish
• TWiV #200: Threading the NEIDL
• TWiV #300: So happy together
• TWiV #400: Harold ‘400’ Varmus, a scientist for all seasons
• TWiV #500: Keep virology weird
• Randal Despommier
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

TWiV notes Ashish Jha’s call for doctors to combat a vacuum of medical information while ignoring our contributions, China CDC’s surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the Huanan Seafood Market, and an experimental infectious attenuated COVID-19 vaccine that elicits superior mucosal and systemic immunity in hamsters.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker

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Links for this episode

• Register for ASV 2023
• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Jha ignores TWiV contribution to disseminating science information (STAT)
• Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the Huanan Market (Nature)
• Pandas in the Huanan Market? (ArsTechnica)
• Infectious attenuated COVID-19 vaccine candidate (Nature Micro)
• Virus attenuation by codon pair deoptimization (Cell Rep)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks

Dickson – Jazz Project: Conductor/composer: Gill Evans. Produced Sketches of Spain, Porgy And Bess. Quincey Jones. Numerous albums, all kinds of music. Duke Ellington. Prolific musician, pianist, and composer. Antonio Carlos Jobim. Signature album: Sound track from the film – Black Orpheus. Signature songs: Girl From Ipanema; The Waters of March. Brianne – sounds-stress.html"> This is what it sounds like when plants cry Kathy – I know who you are by Barbara Rae-Venter Alan – Svalbard seed vault virtual tour Vincent – We’re Asking the Impossible of Vaccines by Katherine Wu

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses the White House COVID adviser calling on doctors to combat a vacuum of medical information, adeno-associated virus type 2 in US children with acute severe hepatitis, genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children, surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the Huanan seafood market, vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization among adolescent and pediatric SARS-CoV-2 cases between May 2021 and January 2022 in Canada, effectiveness of BNT162b2 after extending the primary series dosing interval in children and adolescents aged 5–17, prevalence and characteristics associated with post–COVID-19 condition among non-hospitalized adolescents and young adults, within-host genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals, live-attenuated vaccine sCPD9 elicits superior mucosal and systemic immunity to SARS-CoV-2 variants in hamsters, Fc-γR-dependent antibody effector functions are required for vaccine-mediated protection against antigen-shifted variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 convalescent plasma utilization in the United States, FDA authorizes Gohibic (vilobelimab) injection for the treatment of COVID-19, anti-C5a antibody IFX-1 (vilobelimab) treatment versus best supportive care for patients with severe COVID-19 (PANAMO), anti-C5a antibody (vilobelimab) therapy for critically ill, invasively mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19, triple combination therapy with two antivirals and monoclonal antibodies for persistent or relapsed SARS-CoV-2 infection in immunocompromised patients, and the breadth of the neutralizing antibody response to original SARS-CoV-2 infection is linked to the presence of long COVID symptoms.

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Links for this episode

• White House COVID adviser calls on doctors to combat medical information (STAT)
• Adeno-associated virus type 2 in US children with acute severe hepatitis (Nature)
• Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children (Nature)
• Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the Huanan Seafood Market (ChinaXiv)
• Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization among pediatric SARS-CoV-2 cases (PLOS)
• Effectiveness of BNT162b2 after extending the series dosing interval in children (Nature)
• Prevalence and characteristics associated with post–COVID-19 condition (JAMA)
• Within-host genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 lineages in unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals (Nature)
• Replication-competent-attenuated vaccine sCPD9 elicits immunity to SARS-CoV-2 variants (Nature)
• Fc-γR antibody functions needed for SARS-CoV-2 variant protection via vaccination (Nature)
• COVID-19 convalescent plasma utilization in the United States (CID)
• FDA authorizes Gohibic injection for the treatment of COVID-19  (FDA)
• IFX-1 antibody vs. supportive care for severe COVID-19 patients (Lancet)
• Vilobelimab therapy for COVID-19 critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation (Lancet)
• Triple combo therapy for relapsed SARS-CoV-2 in immunocompromised patients with antivirals and antibodies (CID)
• Neutralizing antibody response breadth to SARS-CoV-2 tied to Long COVID presence (medRxiv)
• Neurological Long COVID pathogenesis and potential therapies (Journal Cells)
• Contribute to our ASTMH fundraiser at PWB
• Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf)
• Letters read on TWiV 998
• Don’t crush Paxlovid (pdf)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

Mohsan joins TWiV to discuss the work of his laboratory showing that spike and nsp6 are determinants of Omicron attenuation, and why the work was widely misinterpreted by the press and the public.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit

Guest: Mohsan Saeed

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Links for this episode

•Register for ASV 2023 •MicrobeTV Discord Server • Spike and nsp6 determinants of Omicron attenuation (Nature) •China releases genomic data from Wuhan market (Science) •Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks

Rich – For pianist Dan Tepfer, improvisation is the mother of Bach’s Inventions Alan – HMS Victory 3D animated tour Vincent – The Fight Over Penn Station and Madison Square Garden

Listener Picks

Douglas – How’s Your City Doing? Ask the Honeybees.

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses how antibiotics don’t reduce risk of death from viral respiratory infections, norovirus infections continue to rise in the US, ABO blood types and SARS-CoV-2 infection assessed using seroprevalence data in a large population-based sample, maternal third dose of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and risk of infant COVID-19 hospitalization, association of treatment with Nirmatrelvir and the risk of Post–COVID-19 condition, mechanically ventilated patients with COVID-19 had a higher chance of in-hospital death if treated with high-flow nasal cannula oxygen before intubation, high-flow nasal cannula and outcomes in COVID-19, severe infection and risk of Cardiovascular disease, and the risk factors associated with post−COVID-19 condition.

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Links for this episode

• Antibiotics don’t reduce risk of death from viral respiratory infections (CIDRAP)
• ABO blood types and SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nature)
• Maternal third dose of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and risk of infant COVID-19 hospitalization (Nature Medicine)
• Association of treatment with Nirmatrelvir and risk of post–COVID-19 (JAMA)
• Ventilated patients with COVID-19 had a higher chance of in-hospital death with usage of nasal cannula oxygen (IARS)
• High-flow nasal cannula and outcomes in COVID-19 (IARS)
• Severe infection and risk of cardiovascular disease (AHA)
• Risk factors associated with post−COVID-19 condition (JAMA)
• Contribute to our ASTMH fundraiser at PWB
• Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (30-2023.pdf">pdf)
• Letters read on TWiV 996
• Don’t crush Paxlovid (pdf)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

TWiV discusses genetic evidence of susceptible wildlife in SARS-CoV-2 positive samples at the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, polio cases in African linked to a new polio vaccine that was designed to not cause the disease, and structural conservation of hepatitis B virus capsid proteins over millions of years despite a shift from a naked to an enveloped capsid.

Click arrow to play Download TWiV 995 (74 MB .mp3, 123 min) Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email

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Links for this episode

•Register for ASV 2023 •MicrobeTV Discord Server • More evidence for SARS-CoV-2 spillover (Zenodo) •Polio cases linked to nOPV2 (Science; GPEI statement) •nOPV2 on TWiV 756 •Engineering OPV to prevent reversion to neurovirulence (Cell Host Microbe) •Stability of nOPV2 in children (npj Vaccines) •2A changes compensate for 5′-UTR disruptions (Virology) •HBV shifts from naked to enveloped (Nat Comm) •Letters read on TWiV 995 •Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks

Dickson – Jazz Project: Bass: Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Percy Heath Angela – The nervous system may play a role in severe allergic reactions through immune cell (mast cells) cross-talk with neurons Brianne – museums-online-collections.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Science"> Science Museums Take Stock of 1.1 Billion Objects from Around the World Vincent – Architect Breaks Down 5 of the Most Common Skyscraper Styles In New York

Listener Picks

Gary – Tony Fauci on PBS Stefanie – What Do You Find Beautiful about Viruses? A Post-COVID Assessment Strategy

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 story, prior COVID-19 infection associated with increased risk of newly diagnosed erectile dysfunction, adverse maternal, fetal, and newborn outcomes among pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection, correlates of protection against COVID-19 infection and intensity of symptomatic disease in vaccinated individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in households in Israel, effectiveness of Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir in preventing hospital admissions and deaths in people with COVID-19, projected COVID-19 mortality reduction from Paxlovid rollout, and SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity from humoral autoimmunity.

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Links for this episode

• cVDPV2 detections in Burundi and the DRC (PGEI)
• Novel oral polio vaccine type 2 story (The Lancet)
• Prior COVID-19 infection associated with risk of diagnosed erectile dysfunction (IJIR)
• Adverse maternal, fetal, and newborn outcomes among pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection (BMJ) 
• Protection against COVID-19 infection and intensity of symptomatic disease in vaccinated individuals(The Lancet)
• Effectiveness of Nirmatrelvir–Ritonavir in preventing hospital admissions and deaths (The Lancet)
• Projected COVID-19 mortality reduction from Paxlovid rollout (JAMA)
• SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity (Nature) 
• Contribute to our ASTMH fundraiser at PWB
• Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (23-2023.pdf">pdf)
• Letters read on TWiV 994
• Don’t crush Paxlovid (pdf)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

TWiV reveals how treatment with remdesivir for COVID-19 resolved a chronic poliovirus infection in an immunocompromised patient, and the finding that infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to an increase in new and preexisting autoantibodies.

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Links for this episode

•Register for ASV 2023 •MicrobeTV Discord Server •Janet Sinsheimer on TWiV 653 •Clearance of chronic poliovirus infection by remdesivir (Front Immunol) •Autoimmunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection (Nat Comm) •Letters read on TWiV 993 •Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Weekly Picks

Brianne – Xkcd: Lymphocytes Kathy – A brief history of Parafilm with video Alan – Mapping and exploring the USS Monitor wreck Vincent – Skype a Scientist

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

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

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin discusses clearance of longstanding, immune-deficiency-associated, vaccine-derived poliovirus infection following remdesivir therapy for chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection, SARS-CoV-2 exposure in New York City rats, clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection during the Delta and Omicron variant-dominant periods in Korea, exhaled breath aerosol shedding of SARS-CoV-2 variants, outpatient treatment of COVID-19 and the development of long COVID over 10 months, Nirmatrelvir and the risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, assessment of the risk of venous thromboembolism in nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19, and the optimal duration of systemic corticosteroids in COVID-19 treatment.

Click arrow to play Download TWiV 992 (19 MB .mp3, 32 min)

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Links for this episode

• Clearance of vaccine-derived poliovirus following remdesivir therapy for SARS-CoV-2 infection (Frontiers) 
• SARS-CoV-2 exposure in Norway rats from New York City (mBio)
• Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Korea (JKMS)
• Exhaled breath aerosol shedding of SARS-CoV-2 variants (CID)
• Outpatient treatment of COVID-19 and the development of Long COVID (The Lancet) 
• Nirmatrelvir and the risk of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (medRxiv)
• Risk of venous thromboembolism in nonhospitalized patients with COVID-19 (JAMA)
• Optimal duration of systemic corticosteroids in COVID-19 treatment (OFID)
• Contribute to our ASTMH fundraiser at PWB
• Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (09-2023.pdf">pdf)
• Letters read on TWiV 992
• Don’t crush Paxlovid (pdf)
• Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks!

Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees

Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv