This Week in Virology TWiV 1306: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin
Mar 21, 2026
Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease clinician who does weekly clinical updates, covers bird flu die-offs, the FDA’s new adverse event system, and court rulings affecting immunization policy. He reviews measles outbreaks and trackers, unusual RSV timing and vaccine expansion, influenza and COVID trends, links between respiratory infections and cancer, and resources for long COVID and public advocacy.
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FDA Merging VAERS Into AI Powered AEMS
- The FDA is consolidating fragmented adverse-event systems into AEMS, folding VAERS under a single AI-powered platform.
- Daniel warned this could obscure vaccine signals or enable misuse if transparency and expertise aren't preserved.
Court Reinstates Evidence Based Vaccine Procedures
- A federal judge blocked RFK Jr.'s overhaul of CDC immunization policy, finding ACIP had been unlawfully reconstituted with unqualified members.
- The ruling stayed Kennedy's schedule changes and vacated votes until ACIP is properly reformed.
Check Multiple Trackers During Measles Outbreaks
- Monitor multiple trackers because CDC and Johns Hopkins reported different measles totals during concurrent outbreaks.
- Daniel highlighted South Carolina (~997) and Utah (~443) as active outbreaks and urged attention to real case counts.
