KPFA - Corona Calls

By KPFA

A weekly update on new research and developments concerning COVID-19 (and occasionally other infectious diseases that hit the news).

We take questions via call-in during the live broadcast, Mondays a... more

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FAQs about KPFA - Corona Calls:

How many episodes does KPFA - Corona Calls have?

The podcast currently has 108 episodes available.

KPFA - Corona Calls episodes:

September 05, 2025 Corona Calls for 02.09.2025
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 02.09.2025 appeared first on KPFA.
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39min
August 11, 2025Corona Calls for 08.11.2025 – RFK kills MRNA contracts
Discussed in this episode:
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ended 22 contracts collectively worth $500 million that funded research and development of MRNA vaccines like the two deployed against COVID in record time.
Research in California dairies suggests bird flu may be transmitted through the air, not just from surface contact.
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 08.11.2025 – RFK kills MRNA contracts appeared first on KPFA.
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25min
August 04, 2025Corona Calls for 08.04.2025 – RFK Jr. takes aim at VICP
Discussed in this episode:
In a lengthy social media post, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised unspecified measures to “fix” the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program – a no-fault system for resolving vaccine injury claims that was set up to keep vaccine manufacturers from ceasing production of low-profit vaccines for fear of litigation costs.
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 08.04.2025 – RFK Jr. takes aim at VICP appeared first on KPFA.
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24min
July 28, 2025Corona Calls for 07.28.2025 – RFK Jr.’s messing with flu vaccine
Discussed in this episode:
HHS Secretary RFK Jr. has signed an order rescinding the federal government’s recommendation of flu vaccines that contain a preservative called thimerosal. The preservative is only used in multi-dose vials — which are used to provide less than 4% of flu vaccinations in the US, typically in hard-to-reach places with poor vaccine storage facilities. Kennedy’s move will make it possible for insurance companies to drop coverage of the thimerosal-containing vaccines, and likely cause manufacturers to stop producing them. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a short brief on thimerosal here.
RFK Jr. is also reportedly preparing to fire the members of the US Preventive Services Task Force — an expert panel that formulates recommendations on everything from cancer screenings to counseling expectant parents on breastfeeding.
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 07.28.2025 – RFK Jr.’s messing with flu vaccine appeared first on KPFA.
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24min
July 21, 2025Corona Calls for 07.21.2025 – A summer wave
Discussed in this episode:
There are indications a late-summer wave is building: high levels of COVID being detected in sewage sample across much of the US (including California), and the rise to dominance of one subvariant (NB.1.8.1) in COVID samples that get genetically sequenced. (When one subvariant rapidly replaces others in sampling, that suggests it has developped a transmissibility advantage that can also drive a net increase in cases).
Brian has COVID, and rates it 0/5 stars.
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 07.21.2025 – A summer wave appeared first on KPFA.
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38min
July 14, 2025Corona Calls for 07.14.2025 – What happens to public health when millions lose healthcare
Discussed in this episode:
Trump’s Big Bill will result in an estimated 12-17 million people losing their health coverage. This will cut most of them off from their most trusted source of information on navigating public health crises: primary care providers. It will also put an enormous strain on the medical facilities that serve them, driving many hospitals and clinics to the brink.
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 07.14.2025 – What happens to public health when millions lose healthcare appeared first on KPFA.
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37min
July 07, 2025Corona Calls for 07.07.2025 – Travel tips / getting around without getting sick
Discussed in this episode:
Dr. Swartzberg’s just back from spending three weeks overseas without getting sick — he shares what precautions (and calculated risks) he took.
The work to establish new clearinghousees for reliable information and consensus recommendations about vaccination, like the Vaccine Integrity Project at the University of Minnesota.
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 07.07.2025 – Travel tips / getting around without getting sick appeared first on KPFA.
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39min
June 30, 2025Corona Calls for 06.30.2025 – the new ACIP
Discussed in this episode:
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices just held its first meeting since HHS Secretary RFK Jr. fired and replaced all 17.
CDC staff presented data showing strong results from last year’s COVID boosters–they significantly reduced the likelihood of severe COVID; the benefits lasted longer before waning than in previous years, and the data shows less evidence of concerning side effects.
Nevertheless, ACIP adjourned without voting on any recommendations regarding fall COVID vaccinations. Vaccine makers are moving ahead with production, but because of separate obstacles created by the Trump administration, they’re using last year’s formula.
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 06.30.2025 – the new ACIP appeared first on KPFA.
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38min
June 16, 2025Corona Calls for 06.16.2025 – RFK Jr. just gutted and stacked ACIP
Dr. John Swartzberg is off this week; in his stead we speak to Dr. Paul Offit, a teaching pediatrician at the University of Pennsylvania who directs The Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and formerly serviced on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). His most recent book is Tell Me When It’s over: An insiders guide to deciphering COVID myths and navigating our post-pandemic world
Discussed in this episode:
Last week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The people he’s appointed to replace them include a handful of prominent vaccine critics and skeptics, and a number of people with expertise that has no obvious connection to advising the government on vaccine policy.
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 06.16.2025 – RFK Jr. just gutted and stacked ACIP appeared first on KPFA.
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25min
June 09, 2025Corona Calls for 06.09.2025
Discussed in this episode:
There are growing concerns that a new Omicron subvariant – NB.1.8.1 – may be good enough at spreading to cause a new case surge.
The Trump administration appears to have just fired four members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — the council of experts that recommends vaccination policy to the Centers for Disease Control.
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 06.09.2025 appeared first on KPFA.
...more
46min

FAQs about KPFA - Corona Calls:

How many episodes does KPFA - Corona Calls have?

The podcast currently has 108 episodes available.