This Week in Virology

In COVID-19 clinical update #98, Daniel Griffin reviews COVID-19 in South Africa, recognition of Omicron by ancestral T cells, booster effectiveness against disease, infection and vaccination in pregnant women, early Remdesivir to prevent progression to severe disease, management of hospitalized adults, Tocilizumab in hospitalized patients, vaccination and long COVID, and the true toll of the pandemic. Click arrow to play Download TWiV 853 (58 MB .mp3, 48 min) Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode COVID-19 in South Africa (pdf) Ancestral T cells recognize Omicron (Nat Med) Booster effectiveness against COVID-19, England (Nat Med) Cases and hospitalization by vaccination status (MMWR) Infection and vaccination in pregnant women, Scotland (Nat Med) Early Remdesivir to prevent progression to severe disease (NEJM) Management of hospitalized adults (NIH) Tocilizumab in hospitalized patients (Resp Care) Vaccination and long COVID in Israel (medRxiv) Pandemic true death toll (Nature) Internship at Parasites Without Borders (pdf) Letters read on TWiV 856 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

Alessandro Sette returns to TWiV to discuss the observation that SARS-CoV-2 vaccination induces T cells that are able to cross-recognize variants Alpha to Omicron. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker Guest: Alessandro Sette Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Travel Award Applications (ASV) 3:20 Impact of variants on T cells (Cell Rep Med) Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Letters read on TWiV 855 Weekly Picks Brianne – 75 years of research on human diseases in 1 minute Kathy – 10 second video of COVID-19 spread Rich – Diffraction spike Vincent – John’s Furniture Repair and Transcend Furniture Gallery Listener Picks Alison – FDA drug shortages Ingrid – One woman’s mission to get vaccines to her rural Alabama town Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

TWiV reviews findings that increased fitness of the Omicron variant is due to immune evasion, not an increase in intrinsic transmissibility, and determination of infectious viral load in patients infected with wild type, Delta and Omicron viruses reveals lack of correlation with RNA loads determined by RT-PCR, similar levels of shedding among Delta and Omicron, and greatly reduced shedding in vaccinated people. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Travel Award Applications (ASV) 2:11 Omicron transmission in Danish households (medRxiv) Infectious viral load in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients (medRxiv) Fred Murphy on TWiV 625 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Dickson – Favorite Science Photos of 2021 Brianne – Viruses, Vaccines, and COVID-19 videos from American Museum of Natural History Kathy – Klompas et al. “Current insights into respiratory virus transmission…” Rich – Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey Vincent – Ebola (1996) by David Molesky at The Incubator Listener Picks Randall – Robert Malone & Peter McCullough: A litany of untruths Suellen – Omicron and the case of the hidden evolution – Understanding Evolution Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

In COVID-19 clinical update #97, Daniel Griffin covers immunity after infection recognized by CDC, outcomes before and after Omicron, infectious viral load in Delta vs Omicron, PCR vs rapid antigen tests, booster interval shortened to 5 months, risk factors for severe outcomes in vaccinated, cross-reactive memory T cells, vaccine effectiveness vs MIS-C, and Rivaroxiban for thromboprophylaxis. Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Quarantine and isolation (CDC) Outcomes before and after Omicron (medRxiv) Infectious viral load in Delta vs Omicron infections (medRxiv) PCR vs rapid antigen test (medRxiv) Booster interval to 5 months (FDA) Cross-reactive memory T cells (Nat Comm) Risk factors for severe outcomes in vaccinated (MMWR) Vaccine effectiveness vs MIS-C (MMWR) Cross-reactive T cells to Omicron from vaccines (medRxiv) Rivaroxiban for thromboprophylaxis (Lancet) Letters read on TWiV 853 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

A TWiV threesome explains the observation that humans with inherited T cell CD28 deficiency are susceptible to severe warts driven by human papilloma virus infection, but are otherwise healthy. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Vaccine Town Hall (ASV) Travel Award Applications (ASV) CD28 deficiency and severe warts (Cell) Vincent interviews Harald zur Hausen (virology blog) Letters read on TWiV 853 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Every Pore on Your Face Is a Walled Garden Rich – “On Warts” by Lewis Thomas (Pdf) Vincent – Cells at Work Code Black 1 Listener Picks Chris – Ria Lina on the Guilty Feminist podcast Duncan – Meet the green kleptos of the animal kingdom Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

The TWiV team reviews the observation that infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant causes reduced reproduction and pathogenesis in mice and hamsters. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Rich Condit, Brianne Barker, and Amy Rosenfeld Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Vaccine Town Hall (ASV) Travel Award Applications (ASV) Omicron infection in mice and hamsters (Res Square) Letters read on TWiV 851 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Dickson – Engineering the James Webb Space Telescope Amy – T cells might be our bodies’ best shot against Omicron Brianne – Where is Webb? Rich – First U.S. vaccine mandate in 1809 launched 200 years of court battles Vincent – The Secret of Life by Howard Markel Listener Picks Jen – Antidote David – Rosie Revere, Engineer Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

In COVID-19 clinical update #96, Daniel Griffin reviews Omicron in South Africa, rapid antigen tests, viral coinfections, isolation and quarantine, saliva preferred for Omicron, risk factors for severe disease in vaccinated, Paxlovid dosing, and long COVID. Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Variant proportions (CDC) Omicron in South Africa (JAMA) Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (Ann Int Med) Diagnostics for COVID-19 (Lancet) Comparison of rapid antigen tests (J Clin Med) Rapid antigen tests to reduce isolation (medRxiv) Frequency of viral confections (MMWR) Isolation and quarantine (CDC) Saliva preferred for Omicron (medRxiv) Risk factors for severe COVID in vaccinated (MMWR) Paxlovid dosing (Pfizer) Fatigue and cognitive impairment (Brain, Behavior, Immune) Letters read on TWiV 850 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv

TWiV kicks off 2022 with a review of the virology highlights of 2021, from three virologists, one immunologist, a science writer, and a partridge in a pear tree. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Rich Condit, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode COVID vaccines: TWiV 708, 715, 718, 844 Non-CoV papers: TWiV 763, 784, 819, 822, 740, 848 Immune correlates of protection: TWiV 791, 799, 835, 832, 841, 789 Fitness: TWiV 705, 836, 768, 757 Guests off beaten track: 723, 726, 732, 838, 773, 745 Lab leak nonsense: TWiV 762, 774 One Health/Viruses in Wildlife: TWiV 799, 722, 771, 809, 798, 759, 791, 847, 750, 821, 824, 804 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Don’t Look Up Kathy – spaceweather.com Rich – Video of a Green Flash  (wiki) Alan – Fungally-modified violins Vincent – This Old Tony especially this segment Listener Picks Paul – Deep Mind and AlphaFold Grant – SARS-CoV-2 reproduction cycle Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

For the final episode of 2021, TWiV reviews an experimental infectious attenuated Lassa fever vaccine based on a codon-deoptimized glycoprotein gene, and SARS-CoV-2 infection of free-ranging white-tailed deer. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, Alan Dove, Kathy Spindler, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Codon-deoptimized Lassa fever vaccine (mBio) Attenuation of dengue virus by codon deoptimization (TWiV 351) Codon deoptimization of poliovirus and RS virus (TWiV 740) Codon deoptimization of DNA viruses (TWiV 362 letters) CEPI on TWiV 612 SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Nature) Letters read on TWiV 847 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Weekly Picks Dickson – EO Wilson (Ants and The Conversation) Brianne – The Best Fun Science Stories of 2021 Kathy – Using sound for data analysis; chemotactic bacteria and Moo loo story Alan – Owls of the Easern Ice, by Jonathan Slaght Vincent – TWiV 9: Fever! The discovery of Lassa virus and TWiV 548: Mice, shrews, and caterpillars Listener Picks Larry – Immunity Jeff – Daily Hospital Surveillance Report Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to twiv@microbe.tv

In COVID-19 clinical update #95, Daniel Griffin discusses new CDC guidelines for isolation and quarantine, EUA for Molnupiravir, children and COVID, vaccine safety in 5-11 year olds, Omicron outbreaks in Nebraska and Denmark, Baylor's COVID vaccine, and COVID-OUT for ivermectin. Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Isolation and quarantine guidance (CDC) EUA for Molnupiravir (FDA) Children and COVID state data (AAP) Vaccine safety in 5-11 year olds (MMWR) Omicron and antigen tests (FDA) Omicron in Nebraska (MMWR) Omicron in Danish households (medRxiv) Baylor COVID vaccine (TCH) COVID-OUT for ivermectin (U Minn) Letters read on TWiV 848 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv