In his weekly clinical update Dr. Griffin discusses the infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections and reinfections during the Omicron wave, virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 XBB variant derived from recombination of two Omicron subvariants, antibody evasion properties of rising SARS-CoV-2 BQ and XBB subvariants, comparative effectiveness of third doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in US veterans, time to negative PCR conversion among high-risk patients with mild-to-moderate Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 COVID-19 treated by Sotrovimab or Nirmatrelvir, COVID drug Paxlovid was hailed as a game-changer, what happened?, the Fc-effector function of COVID-19 convalescent plasma contributes to SARS-CoV-2 treatment efficacy in mice, SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistence in the human body and brain at autopsy, long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19, and how heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case. Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Links for this episode Infectiousness of breakthrough infections & reinfections during Omicron wave (Nature) Virological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 XBB variant (bioRxiv) Antibody evasion properties of BQ and XBB subvariants (Cell) Comparative effectiveness of third doses of mRNA vaccines in US veterans (Nature) Time to negative PCR conversion among high-risk patients treated by Sotrovimab or Nirmatrelvir (CMI) Paxlovid patient eligbiliity screening checklist (FDA) COVID drug Paxlovid was hailed as a game-changer. What happened? (Nature) Fc-effector function of COVID-19 convalescent plasma contributes to treatment efficacy (Cell) SARS-CoV-2 infection and persistence in the human body and brain at autopsy (Nature) Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19 (Nature) Heart-disease risk soars after COVID (Nature) Contribute to our MicrobeTV fundraiser at PWB Dr. Griffin’s treatment guide (pdf) Letters read on TWiV 972 Timestamps by Jolene. Thanks! Intro music is by Ronald Jenkees Send your questions for Dr. Griffin to [email protected]