TWiV dissects a study of COVID-19 vaccination which shows that the timing of initial rollout affects disease outcomes more substantially than final coverage or degree of socioeconomic disparity, and discovery of a novel cellular defense comprising a nuclease that is activated by poxvirus infection and cleaves a specific tRNA molecule to inhibit protein synthesis.

Vinny and the capsids answer listener questions about the definition of life, state vaccination laws, the basic science funding problem, viral ecology, inactivation of viruses by pressure, and much more.

Vincent, Alan, Rich and Eric discuss identification of viruses in Northeastern American bats, vaccinia virus infection after sexual contact with a military vaccinee, and identification of a new flavivirus from an Old World bat in Bangladesh.

Vincent, Alan, and Eric Freed talk about vesivirus contamination of bioreactors, pandemic influenza, maximizing the effect of vaccination by targeting children, chikungunya virus, and open access scientific journals.