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: The precautions Dr. Swartzberg’s taking when he travels to spend Thanksgiving with family: vaccines, masks, and tests Why we just don’t know yet whether nasal sprays like NoriZite actually help prevent infection The government is sending out more free tests. Here’s where to get yours: https://www.covid.gov/tests To send in questions: coronacalls@kpfa.org … Continued
Discussed in this episode: The subvariant rising to dominance in North America: HV.1 Getting vaccinated when your immune system is suppressed Combining Paxlovid with Metfomin To send in questions: coronacalls@kpfa.org Podcast music credit: Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.
Discussed in this episode: what Dr. Swartzberg reads to stay current The CDC Covid Data Tracker Dr. Katelyn Jetelina’s newsletter, Your Local Epidemiologist Dr. Eric Topol’s newsletter, Ground Truths To send in questions: coronacalls@kpfa.org Podcast music credit: Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.
A mailbag episode! (No new papers to discuss.) To send in questions: coronacalls@kpfa.org Podcast music credit: 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
