Discussed in this episode: Jay Bhattacharya, who heads the National Institutes of Health for the Trump administration, kept the CDC from publishing data showing getting an updated COVID shot drastically reduced the need for emergency care and hospitalization. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 04.13.2026 – Why did Trump’s NIH Director delay data on COVID vaccines? appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: In a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics, a federal judge has stayed (put on hold) every decision made by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices since RFK Jr. purged and replaced its membership last summer. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.   The post Corona Calls for 03.23.2026 – ACIP enjoined appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: The New York Times got a copy of an internal report by a working group of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. It makes outlandlish claims about the prevalence of COVID vaccine injury based in part on second-hand reports a conservative pollster, and suggests internal changes to how the government defines and tracks vaccine injury. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 03.16.2026 – ACIP’s anti-vax working group appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: Vinay Prasad, the Trump appointee who heads the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has announced he’s leaving his position at the end of April. The announcement came shortly after he reversed a controversial decision to block FDA review of a new MRNA influenza vaccine from Moderna. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 03.11.2026 – Vinay Prasad is out, again appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: Moderna’s got a new MRNA vaccine for influenza. It says clinical trials show the vaccine is 26% more effective than the flu vaccine currently in use. But when Moderna asked the FDA to review the new vaccine for approval, the FDA refused. Then, within a week, the FDA reversed itself and started the review. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 02.23.2026 – Modernacoaster appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: What it would mean to have a vaccine that targets a broad range of coronaviruses, rather than a few variants of COVID-19. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 02.09.2026 – What the next vaccine breakthrough might look like appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode:   Influenza cases may be headed toward a second spike. The increase seems mostly driven by Influenza B, which is more dangerous for children than Influenza A. After the Trump administration pulled the US out of the World Health Organization, governor Gavin Newsom signed California up. To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 02.02.2026 – Is influenza headed for a second surge? appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: A measles outbreak centered in South Carolina has just topped 700 cases, and spread to at least one person in California. Influenza deaths are topping COVID deaths this season. (Influenza rates *appear* to be starting a decline, but it’s not uncommon for flu season to see a second peak.) Doctor Swartzberg is shockingly sanguine about the pattern COVID seems to have settled into.   To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.     The post Corona Calls for 01.26.26 – Measles on the rise, Flu deaths topping COVID deaths appeared first on KPFA.

Discussed in this episode: RFK Jr. has upended the childhood vaccination schedule To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 01.12.2026 – RFK Jr. Updends the US childhood vaccination schedule appeared first on KPFA.

(Apologies for the one-week delay — I initially posted this to the wrong feed -b) Discussed in this episode: Influenza levels are rising quickly This year’s flu vaccine appears to be reducing the risk of hospitalization in adults by 30-40%. That’s a significant help, but a worse topline than in prior flu seasons. This is likely because the Influenza A subclade K, which has come to predominate, emerged too late to be specifically targeted by this year’s vaccine. The implications of RFK Jr’s CDC drastically changing the childhood vaccination schedule (which it had not done by airtime, but did announce before we published the podcast). To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected] Tune in live Monday mornings at 7:30am Pacific at kpfa.org. Podcast music credit:  Now Son by Podington Bear, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License. The post Corona Calls for 01.05.2026 appeared first on KPFA.