PLUS: The Covid-19 headlines you need to know, a distraction, and something to read.
By Eve Sneider | 09.15.22 | | | | The WHO's leader says the end of the pandemic is in sight, Chinese lockdowns persist, and experts critique government pandemic responses. But first, here's this week's big story: | | Officials urge Americans to get their boosters Now that bivalent boosters are available to everyone in the US aged 12 and older, officials are urging Americans to get their shots. In a recent interview, White House Covid response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha suggested that people think of Halloween as an informal deadline for getting vaccinated before winter arrives. Officials have added that Covid boosters will likely continue to be offered annually, like flu shots, from this year onward. However, as the pandemic response moves into a new phase, some experts in places like New York are concerned that booster uptake may not be as high this fall as it was for previous Covid shots. The new boosters mark another shift, in that they've been reformulated to target the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of the virus, in addition to the original strain. The FDA didn't require large clinical trials for variant-specific boosters, allowing for smaller studies instead, as is standard for the annual flu vaccine. To note, in the August 25 Coronavirus Update, we mistakenly wrote that these formulations haven't been tested in humans, but in fact clinical trials in humans are ongoing at present, and animal data demonstrated that the shots trigger a strong immune response. | | Headlines "We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic," the WHO's director-general said in a news briefing yesterday, adding that weekly deaths are now the lowest they've been since March of 2020. (CNN) In China's Xinjiang region, some residents have been in lockdown for more than 40 days and are taking to social media to speak out about the lack of food and other supplies. (Associated Press) The Lancet Covid-19 Commission, a global group of experts, published a report earlier this week saying that many governments' pandemic responses fell far short. (Washington Post) In a news conference today, the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminded the world that Covid is still a threat on the continent, where vaccination rates remain low. (Al Jazeera) Reflecting back on the early days of the pandemic, a number of American hospitals are remodeling to better accommodate new and unforeseen purposes at different times. (New York Times) | | | | | In the next half-century, the Pacific Northwest has a 1-in-3 chance of being hit by a massive earthquake. In preparation, WIRED's Adrienne So signed up for Disaster Relief Trials, a 30-mile bike race designed to mimic the chaos that will come after this catastrophe. | | | | |
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