TWiV 908: COVID-19 clinical update #118 with Dr. Daniel Griffin

In COVID-19 clinical update #118, Dr. Griffin discusses management of hair loss after infection, FDA announcements on vaccine schedule and recommendations, Moderna announcement on bivalent booster candidate, association between vaccination and infection during pregnancy, population-level implications of Israel’s booster campaign, PAXLOVID outcomes during recent infection surge, efficacy and safety of Tixagevimab-cilgavimab, diagnostic accuracy of infection by canines, efficacy of colchicine in hospitalized patients, and factors associated with hospital readmission.  

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#microbe #viruses #coronavirus #pandemic
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[acarroll]

The question on whether the elderly parents were being too cautious....once again, I feel that long-COVID is being discounted. The 'if you're vaccinated and boosted you should just live your life' attitude bothers me greatly. I don't want to get infected not because I'm concerned about dying, but because I'm concerned about having to live with the potential negative consequences of infection.

[iashakezula]

Thank you for the update. I enjoy listening to this every week. 😊

[riok]

I would like to request an analytical review comparing the countries that have done the best (lowest death from covid) to the countries that have done the worst. What can be learned from the countries that have done the best?

[bcase]

All discharged from a hospital should have follow-up care.

[jeffalexander]

Thanks for clearing that up. It does make sense to wait for antibiotics.

[marialumena]

Is there any way to deal with the question of what is acceptable blood pressure for elderly? Doctors are all over the place on this

[smlorrin]

Please consider adding the Parasites Without Borders website link to the information shown for Dr. Griffin's weekly clinical update videos. I forgot what the website was (because I couldn't immediately stop the video the way he always asks us to) and had to search through the video to find what the website was. Thanks!

[wandamartinez]

I saw there might be a nasal vaccine, when will it be out? And your thoughts on it.

[inewt]

There's one thing I haven't seen addressed. Many people where I work got Covid all at once (we are all vaccinated). Symptoms, from ages 20s to 60s have been identical: sore throat, followed by a bit of tiredness/slight fever, followed by slight cold symptoms (bit of coughing, sneezing). On day 10, we all feel great and all symptoms are gone, but we are all still testing positive with the home antigen test. We are anxious to go back into the office (we are engineers and have work to do in the lab). The CDC recommendations mention isolating 10 days after symptoms, but don't mention testing again after those 10 days. So, should we go back to the office (properly masked)? Or wait until we test negative?

It is almost as if this virus has evolved a way to sneak past the CDC's recommendations. If the CDC changes their recommendation to 12 days, the virus will evolve so you stay contagious for 13 days.

[katiehettinger]

If we could detect VOCs for different infections, they could be cataloged and design a mechanical way of identifying by what ails you by blowing in a tube.

[PifflePrattle]

If either of the elderly couple from South Carolina whose doctor(s) couldn't be bothered to prescribe anti virals die from Covid, can the doctor(s) be sued for negligence with any realistic expectation of success?

[acaryadasa]

I think that testing dogs on a mixed group of Covid infected, influenza infected, non-covid coronavirus infected, etc. would be interesting. In other words are they detecting uniquely covid infection volatiles or general infection volatiles.

[aryah]

Hmm a puzzling reaction to the moderna announcement. Annual updates to influenza vaccines are also done on just the basis of a bridging study looking into correlates, rather than a proper study of disease protection, no? Why would it it be different for a fall 2022 covid booster then?

Unlike this every 4 month booster strategy that the USA (but not the EU) has chosen lately, an annual fall booster is something I do hope to take for the temporary increase of protection, again just like w influenza, since at least in my country covid has been pretty seasonal, w by far the largest waves in the classic respiratory season.

The Israel study in this very episode also gives a reasonable public health rationale for a temporary boost in (infection and/or transmission) protection in a period where higher caseloads are expected. And antibodies should be indicative there, if admittedly not a great correlate for long term protection vs disease.

[tesssiegel]

My father lost his hair after an erysipelas infection in the pre-antibiotic era. It came back.

[davidfriedman]

Please discuss the nasal vaccines which are likely superior to the injectables since it mimics natural infection which usually produces superior immunity. Mucosal IgA is produced in the nasal mucosa when SARS-COV2 vaccine is placed on the nasal mucosa. Cross-variant immunity is generated. The newinjectable bivalent vaccines would not be necessary if the nasal vaccines got approved but politics are politics.

[dorasmith]

I've been given to understand that testing out of quarantine is pretty unreliable. If feeling better, given that most people seem to just be getting colds, I think we're all going back to work but wearing masks. Problem with quarantine is that can vary. My doctor said even with PCR you can test negative one day and positive the next.

[akl]

What about putting the trained K9's at airports to identify those with COVID?

[paulezycom]

Ignorance is the parent of fear. Herman Melville

[elinannestad]

happy to admit my favourite bit was about the dogs. 97%! 100%! I wonder what breed of dogs these were. At the border, beagles are used because they can reliably be trained using food, and also dogs found in the pound who have a high drive for play, the crazy ones who just live to chase a ball, because that drive too can be used for training. But I wonder if some breeds are better at sniffing out illness, or if all dogs can do this. Can they tell illnesses apart?

[paulezycom]

Novavax is just not paying enough FDA grift money