COVID vaccines reduce severe disease and hospitalizations

In his weekly clinical update, Dr. Griffin and Vincent Racaniello chat about death of water fowl on Long Island, ‘renaming’ of the FDA adverse event monitoring system, lawsuits against RFK Jr and HHS for illegal changes in routine immunization practices, before Dr. Griffin deep dives into economic costs of not vaccinating against measles, the measles outbreak in South Carolina, Utah and ICE detention centers, recent statistics on RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infections, the Wasterwater Scan dashboard, Johns Hopkins measles tracker, where to find PEMGARDA, expansion of the RSV vaccine licensure to include high risk yound adults, association between lung cancer and respiratory illnesses, how to access and pay for Paxlovid, effectiveness of vaccination or supplemental vitamin D to reduce the risk of long COVID, and contacting your federal government representative to stop the assault on science and biomedical research.

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• Local waterfowl die-off likely caused by bird flu (The Suffolk Times)
• East End officials respond as dead birds pile up on Long Island shorelines (news 12: Long Island)
• FDA Adverse Event Monitoring System(AEMS)(FDA)
• FDA Launches NewAdverse Event Look-Up Tool(FDA)
• FDA announces AEMS, new adverse-event database to replace VAERS (CIDRAP)
• US cuts broad recommendation for four childhood vaccines including flu (Reuters)
• US CDC deploys staff to curb South Carolina’s measles outbreak (Reuters)
• US judge upends Kennedy’s overhaul of childhood vaccine policies (Reuters)
• American Academy of Pediatrics, et al v. Robert F Kennedy, Jr, et al (Civil Action No 25-11916-BEM)
• White House Puts RFK Jr.’s HHS on Tighter Leash After MAHA Setbacks(Wall Street Journal)
• Wastewater for measles (WasterWater Scan)
• Measles cases and outbreaks (CDC Rubeola)
• Big outbreak, bright lights…Measles Dashboard(South Carolina Department of Public Health)
• Utah measles outbreak response (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
• Utah Measles Dashboard (Utah Department of Health and Human Services)
• 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)
• US respiratory virus activity (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• Respiratory virus activity levels (CDC Respiratory Illnesses)
• Flu vaccine recommendations: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee March 12, 2026 Meeting Announcement (FDA)
• WHO updates all 3 viral strains to be included in fall flu shots(CIDRAP)
• Weekly surveillance report: clift notes (CDC FluView)
• OPTION 2: XOFLUZA $50 Cash Pay Option (xofluza)
• RSV: Waste water scan for 11 pathogens (WastewaterSCan)
• Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
• 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)
• Respiratory Diseases (Yale School of Public Health)
• FDA expands approval for RSV vaccine to include younger adults at high risk (FDA)
• 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)
• Respiratory viral infections prime accelerated lung cancer growth (Cell)
• 2024–2025 COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Effectiveness Against Severe Disease (JID)
• Where to get pemgarda (Pemgarda)
• EUA for 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)
• Understanding Coverage Options (PAXCESS)
• Infectious Disease Society guidelines for treatment and management (ID Society)
• Molnupiravir safety and efficacy (JMV)
• Convalescent plasma recommendation for immunocompromised (ID Society)
• 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
• Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination and Prior Infections to Reduce Long COVID Risk During the Pre-Omicron and Omicron Periods (CID)
• A Randomized Trial of Vitamin D Supplementation and COVID-19 Clinical Outcomes and Long COVID: The Vitamin D for COVID-19 Trial (The Journal of Nutrition)
• Long COVID Treatment Guide (rthm)
• Reaching out to US house representative
• Letters read on TWiV 1306
• 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.