Moderna announced today they were making new versions of their vaccine that can be used as boosters against variants seen in South Africa, Brazil, and the U.K. The vaccine should be effective against variants but it seems to create fewer antibodies against the one that has emerged in South Africa. Either way, vaccines alone will not be enough. We talk about mutations and vaccines.

Also this hour: The Biden inauguration was the most Catholic inauguration in history. Is a more liberal Christianity on the rise?

Lastly, a tribute to John McDonough, actor, singer, and a Connecticut native.

GUESTS:

Paul Turner - An evolutionary biologist and virologist; he’s the Rachel Carson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University and a microbiology faculty member at Yale School of Medicine
Michael Sean Winters - Writes the Distinctly Catholic blog for the National Catholic Reporter, and he is the author of two books including Left At the Altar: How Democrats Lost The Catholics And How Catholics Can Save The Democrats

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Coronavirus Variants; A Very Catholic Inauguration; An Ode