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 126 episodes available.

KPFA - Corona Calls episodes:

February 23, 2026Corona Calls for 02.23.2026 – Modernacoaster
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.
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22min
February 09, 2026Corona Calls for 02.09.2026 – What the next vaccine breakthrough might look like
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.
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39min
February 02, 2026Corona Calls for 02.02.2026 – Is influenza headed for a second surge?
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.
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36min
January 26, 2026Corona Calls for 01.26.26 – Measles on the rise, Flu deaths topping COVID deaths
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.
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39min
January 12, 2026Corona Calls for 01.12.2026 – RFK Jr. Updends the US childhood vaccination schedule
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.
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39min
January 12, 2026Corona Calls for 01.05.2026
(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.
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38min
December 15, 2025Corona Calls for 12.15.2025 – The Illness Outlook for the Holidays
Discussed in this episode:
Trendlines for respiratory illnesses that spread this time of year:
National COVID rates are low but rising in some states, especially in the Northeast.
Influenza rates are rising in line with previous years. One area of concern: vaccination rates for influenza are dropping, which could lead to more severe cases and deaths.
RSV hospitalizations are down dramatically, largely thanks to the RSV vaccine approved in mid-2023.
Levels of rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, are extremely elevated in Brian’s upper respiratory tract.
Corona Calls will be on a holiday hiatus until 2026. 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 12.15.2025 – The Illness Outlook for the Holidays appeared first on KPFA.
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25min
December 08, 2025Corona Calls for 12.08.2025 – Hep B is Back, baby!
Discussed in this episode:
RFK Jr.’s recently-reconfigured Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has reversed a nearly 35-year-old recommendation that all newborns receive vaccination for Hepatitis B. Other childhood vaccinations may be next.
To send us a question in advance of next week’s show, write to: [email protected]
(Because of KPFA’s fundraising schedule, we won’t be able to take live call-ins next week).
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 12.08.2025 – Hep B is Back, baby! appeared first on KPFA.
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24min
December 01, 2025Corona Calls for 12.01.2025 – The FDA’s cracking down on . . . vaccines
Discussed in this episode:
Trump FDA appointee Vinay Prasad sent agency staff a lengthy, accusatory memo alleging without data that COVID vaccination was involved in the deaths of at least 10 children, and promising a stricter vaccine approval process moving forward.
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 12.01.2025 – The FDA’s cracking down on . . . vaccines appeared first on KPFA.
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26min
November 24, 2025Corona Calls for 11.24.2025 – the outlook for flu season
Discussed in this episode:
H3N2 influenza has picked up a mutation (dubbed “subclade K”) that’s raising concerns for two reasons: 1) it accounts for a growing share of influenza samples that get genetically-sequenced, implying it has some growth advantage, and 2) the mutations emerged after the makeup of this year’s flu vaccine was approved and entered production.
A resident of Washington State has died from the first-recorded human infection with H5N5 avian influenza.
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 11.24.2025 – the outlook for flu season appeared first on KPFA.
...more
38min

FAQs about KPFA - Corona Calls:

How many episodes does KPFA - Corona Calls have?

The podcast currently has 126 episodes available.