TWiV 1288: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin

This Week in Virology

Vincent Racaniello

Racaniello, Virus, Virology, Infection, Microbe, Infectious, Medicine, Microbiology, Science & Medicine, Vincent, Twiv, Pathogen

4.8 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 January 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello are bewildered and dismayed by RFK Jr’s announced changes in the routine childhood immunization schedule, though not unpredicted, and highlight the science and evidence which eviscerate these changes, then deep dives into recent statistics on the measles epidemic- in particular in South Carolina, RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, estimated societal burden of COVID-19 illness, deaths and hospitalizations, benefit of maternal COVID-19 vaccination, where to find PEMGARDA, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, long COVID treatment center, where to go for answers to your long COVID questions, neurodevelopmental consequences of in-utero SARS-CoV-2 infection and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode 7 great Danish cheeses you should know (Cheese Professor) Norovirus in on the rise! (WasterWater Scan) Maternal Vaccine Receipt and Infant Hospital and Emergency Visits for Influenza and Pertussis (JAMA Open) TUESDAY MEASLES UPDATE: DPH Reports 124 New Measles Cases in Upstate, New Public Exposures, and Upcoming Vaccination Opportunities (South Carolina: Department of Public Health-they have one?) Measles cases soar in South Carolina, top 400 (CIDRAP) Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan) Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola) Tracking Measles Cases in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins) Measles vaccine recommendations from NYP (jpg) Weekly measles and rubella monitoring (Government of Canada) Measles (WHO) Get the FACTS about measles (NY State Department of Health) Measles (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Measles vaccine (CDC Measles (Rubeola)) Presumptive evidence of measles immunity (CDC) Contraindications and precautions to measles vaccination (CDC) Adverse events associated with childhood vaccines: evidence bearing on causality (NLM) Measles Vaccination: Know the Facts (ISDA: Infectious Diseases Society of America) Deaths following vaccination: what does the evidence show (Vaccine) Influenza: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) USrespiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) Weekly surveillance report: cliff notes (CDC FluView) North Dakota confirms pediatric flu deaths as some states note surge in flu activity (CIDRAP) OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option (Xofluza) The Best Flu Drug Americans Aren’t Taking (The Atlantic) Influenza Vaccine Composition for the 2025-2026 U.S. Influenza Season(FDA) RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health) Impact of universal nirsevimab prophylaxis in infants on hospital and primary care outcomes across two respiratory syncytial virus seasons in Galicia, Spain (NIRSE-GAL): a population-based prospective observational study (Lancet: Infectious Diseases) Interim Safety of RSVpreF Vaccination During Pregnancy (JAMA) Pfizer’s RSV vaccine safe to use during pregnancy, study suggests (CIDRAP) USrespiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses) RSV-Network (CDC Respiratory Syncytial virus Infection) Vaccines for Adults (CDC: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV)) Economic Analysis of Protein Subunit and mRNA RSV Vaccination in Adults aged 50-59 Years (CDC: ACIP) Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan) COVID-19 deaths (CDC) Respiratory Illnesses Data Channel (CDC: Respiratory Illnesses) COVID-19 national and regional trends (CDC) COVID-19 variant tracker (CDC) SARS-CoV-2 genomes galore (Nextstrain) Antigenic and Virological Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 Variant BA.3.2, XFG, and NB.1.8.1 (bioRxiV) Evaluating the Effectiveness of 2024–2025 Seasonal mRNA-1273 Vaccination Against COVID-19-Related Hospitalizations and Medically Attended COVID-19 Among Adults Aged ≥ 18 years in the United States: An Observational Matched Cohort Study (Infectious Diseases and Therapy) Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda) EUAfor the pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 (INVIYD) Infusion center (Prime Fusions) CDC Quarantine guidelines (CDC) NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines (NIH) Drug interaction checker (University of Liverpool) Help your eligible patients access PAXLOVID with the PAXCESS Patient Support Program (Pfizer Pro) UnderstandingCoverageOptions (PAXCESS) Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society) Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV) Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society) Use of corticosteroids in influenza-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome and severe pneumonia: a systemic review and meta-analysis(Scientific Reports) What to do when sick with a respiratory virus (CDC) Managing healthcare staffing shortages (CDC) Anticoagulationguidelines (hematology.org Daniel Griffin’s evidence based medical practices for long COVID (OFID) Long COVID hotline (Columbia : Columbia University Irving Medical Center) The answers: Long COVID Incidence and Severity of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Omicron Era: A Prospective Cohort Study (JID) Reaching out to US house representative Letters read on TWiV 1288 Dr. Griffin’s COVID treatment summary (pdf) Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to daniel@microbe.tv Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This week in Virology, the podcast about viruses, the kind that make you sick.
0:10.3	From MicrobTV, this is Twiv.
0:13.7	This week in Virology, episode 1288 recorded on January 15th, 2026.
0:21.4	I'm Vincent Rackeniello.
0:23.2	You're listening to the podcast, all about viruses.
0:27.0	Joining me today from New York, Daniel Griffin.
0:30.3	Hello, everyone.
0:32.2	It's quite a bow tie, yellow with some virus particles on it.
0:35.8	You know, they're prions.
0:37.4	These are, this is my bright yellow preon.
0:40.4	I've got the matching, well, the pocket square is kind of like, you know, getting near the end of a busy day.
0:45.3	The pocket square that matches is falling down.
0:48.5	But preon, what are they?
0:49.9	I can't see the structure there, but it looks to me like a virus particle.
0:55.3	Yeah, it's like these interlocking proteins, but it's really just one misfolded protein, right?
1:01.8	Okay, preons.
1:03.0	Yeah, you know, occasionally it's a great assay, I should say, for testing if you're concerned that someone might have preon disease,
1:11.7	what you do is you take a little bit of the CSF or whatever tissue from sample, but CSF is often
1:18.3	what we're doing.
1:19.0	And then you add it to where the proteins are, and it triggers this sort of cascade of misfolding.
1:25.9	That's like protein PCR.
1:27.8	It is.
	...

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