A weekly update on new research and developments concerning COVID-19 (and occasionally other infectious diseases that hit the news).
We take questions via call-in during the live broadcast, Mondays at 7:33am Pacific, streaming via kpfa.org. Podcasts with show notes go up later the same day. Between live shows, we take questions via email at upfront@kpfa.org .
Our guest most weeks is Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Our question-wrangler most weeks is Brian Edwards-Tiekert, host of KPFA’s morning public affairs program, UpFront.
Music: Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.
Discussed in this episode: A new article in the journal Cell finds Long Covid associated with reduced levels of serotonin circulating in the bloodstream. (The authors’ explanation: the persistent presence of the virus, and/or its fragments, causes the body to crank out more type I interferons. The interferons cause inflammation in the gut that reduces uptake … Continued
Discussed in this episode: How does Novavax compare to mRNA vaccines? It is different from a traditional vaccine, as it is a protein entering the immune system. Comparatively, mRNA vaccines facilitate the generation of proteins that can be protective. The Novavax results seem to be similar to mRNA vaccines, and some studies have shown that … Continued
Discussed in this episode: Novavax approved and in production for US adults and teens mRNA vaccine developers receive Nobel prize in medicine Podcast music credit: Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.
Discussed in this episode: Early in the pandemic, studies showed the amount of SARS-COV2 in nasal swabs peaked right about the time people got their first symptoms — helping to establish that a lot of spread was attributable to pre-symptomatic people. A new study shows viral load is now peaking 4-5 days after symptom onset, possibly because … Continued
Discussed in this episode: Based on hospitalizations and sewage monitoring, the late-summer swell of cases seems to have crested In anticipation of a larger winter surge, multiple Bay Area counties are mandating healthcare workers wear masks starting November 1. Podcast music credit: Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.
Discussed in this episode: COVID hospitalizations continue to trend up, nearly doubling rates from mid-summer. (That’s a large increase from a low baseline: in most of the country, hospitalization rates are still what the CDC considers “low.”) A new observational study using patient data from Stockholm suggests the percent of COVID cases that result in … Continued
Discussed in this episode: The FDA is poised to issue final approval of a new round of COVID vaccines as soon as today; a CDC advisory committee will issue recommendations on who should get it tomorrow (Tuesday); the new shots could be available as soon as Friday. The vaccine is re-calibrated to target the main … Continued
Discussed in this episode: New results from laboratory testing suggest BA.2.86 (nicknamed “Pirola”) may not be the menace people assessing its genetic sequence initially feared. These studies attach the spike protein from a COVID subvariant onto a harmless pseudovirus, then watch how it interacts with our cells and antibodies in a test tube. The first … Continued
Discussed in this episode: The new subvariant B.2.86 (nicknamed “Pirola”) is drawing concern in public health circles because a large quantity of mutations suggest it could be very effective at evading immunity from vaccination or infection from prior strains. It’s already been detected in multiple countries, including the US. A new study in Nature confirms the … Continued
Discussed in this episode: Considerations when timing and combining the COVID booster due out this fall, the annual flu vaccine, and the newly-approved RSV vaccine. A new study suggests you might get a better immune response from getting all your COVID shots in the same arm. (The study only measured antibodies and T-cells in blood … Continued
