TWiV 1203: What's old is flu again

TWiV explains why RFK Jr.'s proposal to let H5N1 infections in birds 'rip' is a bad idea, phase 1/2 trial of combined influenza/COVID mRNA vaccines, and how your first influenza virus exposure shapes the B cell response to influenza vaccination 50 years later. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Rich Condit , and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts , RSS , email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Support science education at MicrobeTV ASV 2025 RFK Jr. says let H5N1 rip through flocks (NY Times) Combined flu/COVID mRNA vaccine (Nat Comm) Rare syndrome after COVID vaccination ( NY Times , medRxiv ) Imprinting lasts 50 years (Immunity) Imprinting protects against H5N1 and H7N9 (Science) Letters read on TWiV 1203 Timestamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Weekly Picks Brianne – Node-Focal Plane Image Competition Rich – Periodic cooking of eggs Vincent – The use of placebo controls in clinical trials Listener Picks Anne – Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your virology questions and comments to [email protected] Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.