This Week in Virology TWiV 1282: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
Dec 27, 2025
Dr. Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease clinician and researcher, dives into pressing viral concerns, from a new high path influenza case in Wisconsin to the Marburg outbreak in Ethiopia. He highlights the alarming rise of measles cases across North America and discusses the effectiveness of current influenza antivirals. Key insights include the higher mortality rates linked to COVID-19 compared to influenza, and the promising data on nirsevimab for RSV prevention in infants. The importance of vaccination remains a recurring theme throughout their insightful chat.
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COVID Still Higher Short-Term Mortality Than Flu
- A Korean cohort found COVID-19 had higher 30-day all-cause mortality than seasonal influenza, especially ages 18–64 and hospitalized patients.
- All-cause endpoints capture downstream events like strokes and heart attacks triggered by infections.
Monoclonal Antibody Outperformed Maternal RSV Vaccine
- For infant RSV protection, nirsevimab (monoclonal) reduced RSV hospitalizations and severe outcomes more than maternal RSVpreF vaccination.
- Administer monoclonal to newborns when timing or maternal vaccination may provide suboptimal neonatal protection.
Vaccine Response Predicts Outcomes In Vulnerable Groups
- In vulnerable populations, absent antibody responses after vaccination associate with higher post-vaccine infection, hospitalization, and death risks.
- T-cell data are sparser but likely important for long-term protection when antibodies wane.
