I gave an enjoyable podcast interview with @Fishawack - talking about everything from growing up in Guatemala, machete scars, team building philosophy, to the biotechnology revolution and universal vaccines.

#H5N1 Bird flu in cats, reported by CDC and then withdrawn. It might have been pulled for conclusion review, but it’s worth noting that I did find some H5N1 sequences from cats in #GISAID.

@CBSNews had me on to talk about the #H5N1 #birdflu disturbing developments. We talk about expensive eggs and why this is nightmare fuel if this goes human-to-human transmissible

@zaptrapped @Kilp123 @creepydotorg Messed up

@Kilp123 @creepydotorg She’s not just vegan, she’s a fruitarian with an eating disorder disguised as a lifestyle. It’s unfortunate that she was going through this and that her medical issues were being enabled.

@xgigglypuff Congrats!

Whooping cough (#pertussis) was dramaticallly reduced by the 1970s, due to the #DTaP vaccine. It’s now resurfacing in a significant outbreak: 16,000 cases and it’s not even the winter season yet. We are moving backwards.

@EVENRiverboards Has it occured to you that it could be related to the coronavirus

@DrSalinasLab It’s very skewed. 19 women have won the Nobel Peace Prize (16.3% of 110 awarded); 18 for Literature (15% of 120 awarded); 13 for Physiology or Medicine (5.6% of 230 awarded); 8 for Chemistry (4.1% of 191 awarded); 5 for Physics (1.8% of 224 awarded)

@MarcoStrambolo @statesdj Here’s how that works. We generated a vaccine using 1918-2007 components and then showed it protected and neutralized 2008-2024 viruses. We then made a final 1918-2022 design and showed it covered 2023-2024 including H5N1.

@EVENRiverboards At that time it was. But I agree with you that the vaccine deteriorated in efficacy as the virus continued to mutate. We are now in a similar situation for COV2 vaccines that we are in for influenza vaccines - they are already partially obsolete by the time of release.

@tibip

@AZLIVINGBLUE @COVID19_disease If there are 40 cases, then unless the symptoms are unusual I think it’s too early to sound the alarm. Were the 40 cases all from a single event? Even if not, it’s premature to get concerned. Degree of sequence differences also matters - is it very different from vaccines?

@AZLIVINGBLUE @COVID19_disease I’ll look into it. I was recently asked about XEC but not this strain.

50% vaccination rate is pretty normal for flu in US. Looks like COV2 vaccinations are lower than flu vaccination rates, which is interesting. My thoughts in the article.

@xgigglypuff Congrats

@chrismandz @DrEricDing @DrPaulOffit @ZDoggMD It binds sialic acid, which is a relatively simple chemical found on the surface of lung tissue and some other cells from multiple species. Other genetic differences also affect transmission, body temperature difference between birds and mammals is also a barrier

RT @OksanaPyzikUCL: Warnings over lethal and contagious strain of mpox as children in DRC die

Antiviral-resistant flu tracking in the United States: