TWiV discusses whether or not Omicron should be designated a new serotype of SARS-CoV-2, and the finding that amino acid changes that adapt SARS-CoV-2 to mink or ferret do not increase fitness in the human airway.
In COVID-19 clinical update #103, Daniel Griffin covers immunocompromised people, hospitalization of children, vaccine usage update, Omicron and cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies, reinfection prevents disease in hamsters, repeated infections with endemic coronaviruses, global burden of antimicrobial resistance, ivermectin not protective in hamsters, and Omicron evades therapeutic monoclonals.
In COVID-19 clinical update #102, Daniel Griffin reviews children and COVID, effectiveness of maternal vaccination, vaccines for immunocompromised, primary care physicians and vaccination rates, booster safety among adults, placentitis, azithromycin, oral Nirmatrelvir, Omicron antibody evasion, EUA for bebtelovimab, IL-1 blocking agents, thromboprophylaxis, effectiveness of vaccines against long COVID, and risks of mental health outcomes.
TWiV reviews an experimental, intranasally administered SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that utilizes adenovirus vectors to deliver three viral proteins and induces immunity to ancestral and variant isolates.
In COVID-19 clinical update #101, Daniel Griffin discusses children and COVID, human challenge study results, effectiveness of mask use, Omicron boost in macaques, mucosal vaccine candidate, long-term cardiovascular outcomes, and global vaccine perceptions.
Monica, John, David, and Marc join TWiV to discuss their work on identifying cryptic SARS-CoV-2 lineages in New York City wastewater, and understanding whether they were shed from humans or other animals.
TWiV reviews the results of a study in which 36 volunteers were infected with SARS-CoV-2, and what was learned about the kinetics of virus reproduction in the nose and throat, development of symptoms, and reliability of lateral flow antigen assays.
In COVID-19 clinical update #100, Daniel Griffin, from Accra, Ghana, reviews the challenges in evaluating Omicron severity, over 800 deaths in children, Pfizer vaccine EUA application for under 5 year olds, false positives from soft drinks, Novavax vaccine EUA application, childhood experiences and vaccine hesitancy, fourth vaccine dose in Israel, effects of antivirals and monoclonals against Omicron, and multiple factors associated with PASC.
Nels joins TWiV to discuss hypotheses for the origins of Omicron, including that it came from mice or arose during chronic infection of an immunocompromised patient.
TWiV reviews a seminal paper showing that chemically modified bases in RNAs suppress recognition by Toll-like receptors, a finding that that was essential for the development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
The Hosts of TWiV
Vincent Racaniello, Ph.D.
Dickson D.
Despommier, Ph.D.
Alan Dove, Ph.D.
Daniel Griffin, M.D.,
Ph.D., CTropMed CTH
Jolene Ramsey, Ph.D.