COVID-19 treatment and vaccine update thread

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:24 pm

gilraen wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:22 pm I just tested positive on day 7, so I'm still a walking biohazard. I guess I'll stop wasting tests and give it another 3 or so days before checking again.

And stop French kissing everyone you meet! That was the hardest part of my quarantine.

It was 6 days testing positive for me...I had, I guess, symptoms going a few days earlier. What concerns me about your account and mine is that when my son tested positive in early May, his school said he was good to return in 5 days (no negative test necessary) and his dance school said if his school was good with it, they were too. When my wife subsequently got it, she tested negative on day 5.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:45 pm

We're going to start testing again when we finish our Paxlovid. Wife is a day ahead of me and had worse symptoms, which are almost gone now.

ManAboutNothing · Post by **ManAboutNothing** » Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:59 pm

Is anyone having a sort-of lingering sore throat and pesky cough even after many of the other symptoms have gone away (had aches, chills, stuffy nose, etc)? I'm on Day 5 I think overall of what I presume to be Covid (not tested).

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 3:27 pm

BioNTech, Pfizer to start testing universal vaccine for coronaviruses

Germany's BioNTech (22UAy.DE), Pfizer's (PFE.N) partner in COVID-19 vaccines, said the two companies would start tests on humans of next-generation shots that protect against a wide variety of coronaviruses in the second half of the year.

Their experimental work on shots that go beyond the current approach include T-cell-enhancing shots, designed to primarily protect against severe disease if the virus becomes more dangerous, and pan-coronavirus shots that protect against the broader family of viruses and its mutations.

In presentation slides posted on BioNTech's website for its investor day, the German biotech firm said its aim was to "provide durable variant protection".

The two partners, makers of the Western world's most widely used COVID-19 shot, are currently discussing with regulators enhanced versions of their established shot to better protect against the Omicron variant and its sublineages.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 3:33 pm

ManAboutNothing wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:59 pm Is anyone having a sort-of lingering sore throat and pesky cough even after many of the other symptoms have gone away (had aches, chills, stuffy nose, etc)? I'm on Day 5 I think overall of what I presume to be Covid (not tested).

Not sure about throat pain (unless it's related to coughing), but a lingering cough is textbook Covid. Sometimes it lasts a week or so after you're feeling better. Or a month. Or seemingly years. It's different for everyone.

Read more here.

Regardless, you should probably get tested to verify your status.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sat Jul 02, 2022 3:42 pm

FWIW, a sore throat is the first thing listed among common COVID symptoms on the Canadian Federal COVID site:

Symptoms of COVID-19 can vary:
from person to person

in different age groups

depending on the COVID-19 variant
Some of the more commonly reported symptoms include:
sore throat

runny nose

sneezing

new or worsening cough

shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

temperature equal to or more than 38°C

feeling feverish

chills

fatigue or weakness

muscle or body aches

new loss of smell or taste

headache

abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting

feeling very unwell

Hrdina · Post by **Hrdina** » Sun Jul 03, 2022 12:12 am

hitbyambulance wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:59 pm what's the medical evidence for the efficacy of getting a second booster if one is not-quite-at the fifty-year-old milestone? and if it's worth it, how does one 'persuade' the provider to administer it?

I'm in my mid-50s and had my first booster in January. I've been advised to drag my feet a little on the second booster in hopes that an omicron-targeted one is released in the fall.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun Jul 03, 2022 12:59 am

I've heard the same - it is probably more effective to get a more targeted shot later on than a less effective shot now. At least when you're talking large numbers of people - on the individual level, that's reliant on not getting sick in the meantime.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Jul 03, 2022 8:40 am

Is there an assumption that people who get a booster of an OG vaccine now will not be allowed to get an upgraded booster in the fall (assuming they actually materialize)?

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 3:31 am

Bob Wachter (Chair, UCSF Dept of Medicine) tweeted a thread last night giving his thoughts on the implications of BA.5. He seems to think that if you can get another booster now, it's better to do it now than to wait until the fall in the hope that there will be more effective options then because, while it won't do a lot in and of itself to protect against infection there is still a 2-month window wherein it provides significant additional protection against severe diseases.

First tweet here, and tweets about boosting here.

Does this mean you shouldn’t get boost #2? Absolutely not! In fact, I’ve been on the fence about boost 2 for folks not at very high risk (ie, below age 70). But recent data shows a powerful ⬆in protection from boost #2 (4-fold mortality reduction in people >age 50; Fig). (16/25)

Many ask: “Shouldn’t I wait on boost #2 until fall, when a new bivalent (combo of original & Omicron-specific boost) is available? For those over 50, I’d say no – there's too much Covid around and evidence of benefit from boost #2 is persuasive.
Pfizer/Moderna are now…(17/25)

…developing a booster targeting BA.4/5 (the one they’ve built vs the original Omicron will have limited utility against BA.5). If the new booster is highly effective (not guaranteed), I doubt that getting a 2nd boost now will block you from getting bivalent boost in fall.(18/25)

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:52 am

Wachter is an interesting character. I'm not going to disparage his information regarding the variants and vaccination plans, but in terms of masking? He has a blind spot about a mile wide, apparently.

Regardless, the updated booster will allegedly be coming October/November, which would be great news for someone like me that was last boostered in October of 2021. However, there's no guarantee I'd be able to get it as I'm not 50+.

More of the regular boosters are allegedly coming sooner (August/September), but there's no guarantee people <50 will be given access to them either. Not just age, but a rationed supply because [R/P reasons].

Everything about this is a mess. It's like they're going out of their way to intentionally make it difficult and confusing.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:13 pm

He does go out of his way in that thread to make a case for masking up where appropriate.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:24 pm

I'm not holding my breath.

Doctors urge Ontario to open 4th doses of COVID-19 vaccine to all adults

Some doctors are calling on Ontario to allow all adults to get a second booster of a COVID-19 vaccine this summer, something that the province is currently limiting to only a portion of the population.

Around 7.4 million Ontarians have received one booster, and nearly 90 per cent of those shots were administered at least five months ago, according to Public Health Ontario data.

Studies have shown the COVID-19 boosters begin to lose some effectiveness four months after being administered, leading to growing calls for Ontario to widen eligibility for a second booster, equivalent to a fourth dose of vaccine.

"We know that the protection provided by those vaccines has been effective in reducing serious illness and death, but it's waning," said Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, a family physician in Ottawa.

Ontario is currently limiting fourth doses to people over age 60, as well as adults of any age who are Indigenous, living in long-term care, or immunocompromised. About 1.4 million people qualify, leaving roughly six million people who had a booster last winter ineligible to get another shot now.

CBC News asked the Ministry of Health last week how many vaccine doses Ontario currently has in stock, but officials did not provide an answer.

Next door in Quebec, all adults became eligible for fourth doses in May.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 8:24 pm

Max Peck wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:13 pm He does go out of his way in that thread to make a case for masking up where appropriate.

He also says (#7) that "its up to everyone to determine our own risk tolerance and own behavior"

That is some Grade A horse crap as it's now impossible for anyone anywhere to calculate risk because hardly anything is being done to stop uncontrolled spread. Additionally, pushing this to an individual level is the exact opposite of public health. He's undermining any good he's doing with this type of messaging to the 275K people that follow him. It's gross and 2+ years later he should know better.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:16 pm

I finished my paxlovid this morning and tested negative tonight. Between recovering and being fully vaxxed/boosted, I should be immune now for at least a few weeks, or even months, right? At least until the next variant comes to town?

Wife finished her drugs yesterday but is still coughing. She'll test tomorrow to figure out if she needs to ask for another course of Paxlovid or if it's the usual lung infection that she always gets when she flies. If it's the latter it will go away on its own in 3-4 months.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:25 pm

Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 04, 2022 9:16 pm I should be immune now for at least a few weeks, or even months, right? At least until the next variant comes to town?

Studies are ongoing, but anecdotal (lots of anecdotal) evidence suggests ~6 weeks of protection. That said, there have been cases where people get it twice in 21 days, though I think that's still kinda rare. But it wouldn't surprise me if the actual number was somewhere between 4-6 weeks of protection for the new variants.

Where it's getting fuzzy is the additional anecdotal evidence (though a study was just released supporting it), that the variants jack-up your immune system and for a while, you're potentially at increased risk for all types of infections in the short term because your T-cells (involved in immune response) have been screwed up by the virus.

Regardless, I do hope your wife gets better. Either way, remain vigilant.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 04, 2022 11:27 pm

Well, I'm going to wait 5 days before I rejoin the world, but when that happens Imma party like it's 1999. By which I mean: go the packie without a mask.

We'll see how Wife tests in the morning. I predict that she shook covid and now just has her routine bronchitis.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:46 pm

Good news regarding Paxlovid - a barrier for access has been lowered:

https://twitter.com/US_FDA/status/1544727343599697923

Today, we revised the EUA for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir), to authorize state-licensed pharmacists to prescribe Paxlovid to eligible patients, with certain limitations to ensure appropriate patient assessment and prescribing of Paxlovid.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 11:14 am

I don't know this person's reliability, but this all sounds not terrible.

https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout/stat ... NEpMI_-2Qw

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 2:32 pm

Smoove - I was reading this article on mental health data (and the click through studies), but it's really difficult (for me, at least) to discern whether they are basing the entire article off of data from 20/21 samples, which are all pre-vaccine, or if they did *real* regression analysis this year (2022).

Any idea?

Specifically, when I go to the click through, these numbers:

With the advent of COVID vaccines and treatments, the advice to shield lapsed in August 2021. Yet despite encouragement to reintegrate into society, many people continued to shield in their homes. As of May 2022, 13% of people classified as clinically vulnerable were still shielding, while 69% reported taking extra precautions (these might include social distancing or wearing a mask).

Seem as if they may not be as rigorous, or even backed up in the click-through study, especially with regards to the mental health of these people. It seems more as if they just asked if they were shielding w/o any follow up on the mental health (and with r-0 for BA 4/5 over 18, this seems the wiser course, especially for the vulnerable...

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 2:55 pm

It looks like they compared data gathered from February of 2021 to data gathered in March of 2020; no data from 2022 was used for analysis - so yes, largely before populations were vaccinated. I don't know what the policy was exactly in the UK for vaccination and how vaccination for at-risk populations was handled, but I'm pretty sure like us they started vaccinating high-risk people in December or January of 20/21.

The study was also designed to gather information not just about the individual themselves:

Interestingly, we found that participants with vicarious health anxiety were not necessarily worried about their own health at all. One might speculate that the burden of the health of a vulnerable person you care about – in particular, the knowledge that inadvertently transmitting COVID to them can have grave consequences – is more emotionally challenging than taking responsibility for your own health.

Anecdotally (and personally), I am absolutely worried about giving Covid to my wife, daughter or elder parents; it drives my decision making.

You're right though because it's hard to get a bead on the actual risk in July of 2022 vs March of 2020 vs February of 2021. Some things are better, but now that there's immune escape, the potential for infection ( and complications) is back so comparing anxiety isn't a 1:1 thing - you'd really need to dial the questions in as part of the survey and that's not easy.

I hadn't see it regardless, so thanks for sharing.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 4:45 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 2:55 pm It looks like they compared data gathered from February of 2021 to data gathered in March of 2020; no data from 2022 was used for analysis - so yes, largely before populations were vaccinated. I don't know what the policy was exactly in the UK for vaccination and how vaccination for at-risk populations was handled, but I'm pretty sure like us they started vaccinating high-risk people in December or January of 20/21.

The study was also designed to gather information not just about the individual themselves:

Interestingly, we found that participants with vicarious health anxiety were not necessarily worried about their own health at all. One might speculate that the burden of the health of a vulnerable person you care about – in particular, the knowledge that inadvertently transmitting COVID to them can have grave consequences – is more emotionally challenging than taking responsibility for your own health.
Anecdotally (and personally), I am absolutely worried about giving Covid to my wife, daughter or elder parents; it drives my decision making.

You're right though because it's hard to get a bead on the actual risk in July of 2022 vs March of 2020 vs February of 2021. Some things are better, but now that there's immune escape, the potential for infection ( and complications) is back so comparing anxiety isn't a 1:1 thing - you'd really need to dial the questions in as part of the survey and that's not easy.

I hadn't see it regardless, so thanks for sharing.

Cool - thanks. I just think it could be a bit irresponsible extrapolating mental health outcomes based on pre-vaccine data, with the elevated lethality of pre-Omicron strains pre-vaccine in particular. Useful for determining how best to handle mental health impacts of the next pandemic, but not as valid for where we're at now, though with proper regression analysis, it could be valid for helping people as we move on.

As to being more worried about friends and family? Hell yeah. I definitely care more about protecting my loved ones with vulnerabilities than myself, and also really, really wouldn't want the burden of even thinking that I could be/could have been the one who infected someone who dies/has serious complication, especially if it's a loved one, but essentially anyone too.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:31 pm

Wife just had a positive PCR test. Looks like she rebounded from her paxlovid (she had tested negative a couple of days ago with a home test) so she's going to ask for another course.

I'll take a home test later tonight, altho I have no symptoms. We'll soon find out if I'm immune to this strain now. Guess I'm back to masking up again anyway, just to keep from spreading it.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 8:35 pm

Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:31 pm Wife just had a positive PCR test. Looks like she rebounded from her paxlovid (she had tested negative a couple of days ago with a home test) so she's going to ask for another course.

I'll take a home test later tonight, altho I have no symptoms. We'll soon find out if I'm immune to this strain now. Guess I'm back to masking up again anyway, just to keep from spreading it.

Don't discount actual re-infection. BA.5 seems as if it's doing that, very rapidly in some cases:

some who recently caught COVID are getting it again

Tho 'recently' seems more like a couple of months, not days/weeks:

That’s why, as many studies have now consistently shown, antibodies from triple-vaccinated people, or people who had breakthrough infections with earlier variants, are three to four times less potent at neutralizing BA.4 or BA.5 than BA.1 or BA.2. This means that most people are now less protected against infection than they were two months ago—and that some people who got COVID very recently are getting reinfected now. “I hear from a lot of people who just had COVID in February, March, or April and now have it again,” Anne Hahn, a virologist and immunologist at Yale, told me.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 9:56 pm

Sorry to hear about your wife (again). What's funny (scary?) about the rebound effect is that they still aren't sure exactly what's happening. Some are arguing it's because we're not giving people enough - that a 5 days course of treatment is too short. But last month there was a study published suggested it's possibly related to how the virus replicates and should be expected in some percentage of people - possibly those that haven't been recently vaccinated. Or maybe it's related to having other health conditions. The point is, more studies are needed, which I guess isn't a surprise.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 9:58 pm

**snip** Posted something here that's probably best in another thread...

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:18 pm

I tested negative tonight, as expected. Going to keep testing daily until Wife is free and clear. Express Scripts is very generous with free tests.

The main difference between us is that she started her course of Paxlovid about two days after her positive test, whereas I started mine within 8 hours. I felt myself starting to get good and sick, took my first dose, felt fine for the next five days, then tested negative as soon as the drugs were gone.

Maybe the key is starting the drug right after infection, before the virus can really dig in its little spikes.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:36 pm

That's probably a good guess. They will prescribe it up to 5 days but in time they might lower it based on additional studies. Similar to something like Tamiflu which you need to take within 48 hours of symptoms.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Tue Jul 12, 2022 8:21 am

Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:18 pm I tested negative tonight, as expected. Going to keep testing daily until Wife is free and clear. Express Scripts is very generous with free tests.

The main difference between us is that she started her course of Paxlovid about two days after her positive test, whereas I started mine within 8 hours. I felt myself starting to get good and sick, took my first dose, felt fine for the next five days, then tested negative as soon as the drugs were gone.

Maybe the key is starting the drug right after infection, before the virus can really dig in its little spikes.

But are you not possibly in that “+-+” cycle that seems to sometime come with that treatment ?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jul 12, 2022 10:21 am

Unagi wrote: Tue Jul 12, 2022 8:21 am
Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:18 pm I tested negative tonight, as expected. Going to keep testing daily until Wife is free and clear. Express Scripts is very generous with free tests.

The main difference between us is that she started her course of Paxlovid about two days after her positive test, whereas I started mine within 8 hours. I felt myself starting to get good and sick, took my first dose, felt fine for the next five days, then tested negative as soon as the drugs were gone.

Maybe the key is starting the drug right after infection, before the virus can really dig in its little spikes.

But are you not possibly in that “+-+” cycle that seems to sometime come with that treatment ?

Could be, but so far, so good.

Our doc opted not to put Wife back on Pax since she has only mild symptoms and there is some concern about liver damage (I guess). Tempted to get it from the pharmacist instead, now that they can prescribe, but we'll play it the doctor's way. He wants her to wait 5 days and then get another PCR test.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Wed Jul 13, 2022 3:43 pm

Beginning tomorrow, Ontario is extending eligibility for a second booster to all adults (18+) if it has been at least 5 months since their last dose. They are stopping short of actually recommending it for otherwise healthy individuals with no underlying health problems ("It's not a 'should,' it's absolutely a 'may' depending on your personal circumstances," Moore said.) and caution that if you get a booster now, you'll need to wait at least another 5 months before being eligible to get a bivalent booster in the fall (if they become available), or 3 months if you're immunocompromised.

Ontario expands access to 4th COVID-19 vaccine doses to all adults

Ontario is expanding eligibility for fourth shots of COVID-19 vaccines to all adults this week, but the province's top doctor said healthy people under the age of 60 who have had three doses already may want to wait until the fall for a second booster.

As of Thursday, Ontarians between 18 and 59 years old who had a first booster shot at least five months ago will be able to book an appointment get a second. It must also be at least three months since a COVID-19 infection.

At a Wednesday morning news conference, Dr. Kieran Moore said the expansion of eligibility is particularly aimed at adults who have underlying health issues and are at higher risk of severe infection. He said relatively healthy adults who have already had three doses of COVID-19 vaccines may want to wait until the fall, when it is anticipated that an Omicron-specific vaccine will be available in Ontario.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:45 pm

Novavax _finally_ approved in the US

https://apnews.com/article/covid-scienc ... ce589eaa7b

watch the 'but mRNA vaccine is unproved, i want something known' crowd move the goalposts

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:52 pm

Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:31 pm Wife just had a positive PCR test. Looks like she rebounded from her paxlovid (she had tested negative a couple of days ago with a home test) so she's going to ask for another course.

LTTP regarding when you posted, but I was explicitly told by my doctor that I could test positive on a PCR test for 90 days after getting Covid and to not rely on one to give me a negative result after my symptoms eased when I had it this spring.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:22 pm

pr0ner wrote: Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:52 pm
Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:31 pm Wife just had a positive PCR test. Looks like she rebounded from her paxlovid (she had tested negative a couple of days ago with a home test) so she's going to ask for another course.
LTTP regarding when you posted, but I was explicitly told by my doctor that I could test positive on a PCR test for 90 days after getting Covid and to not rely on one to give me a negative result after my symptoms eased when I had it this spring.

Her cough and fatigue hung on. But she's feeling better now and has a string of negative home tests to back her up. We were both testing daily for about a week there.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:32 pm

pr0ner wrote:
Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:31 pm Wife just had a positive PCR test. Looks like she rebounded from her paxlovid (she had tested negative a couple of days ago with a home test) so she's going to ask for another course.
LTTP regarding when you posted, but I was explicitly told by my doctor that I could test positive on a PCR test for 90 days after getting Covid and to not rely on one to give me a negative result after my symptoms eased when I had it this spring.

This is very true. PCR testing is very sensitive because it relies on multiplying and detecting very small amounts or fragments of viral genetic material. It can remain positive long after active infection or period of infectivity because it can detect very small, inactive viral components that persist for weeks or months after infection. This is why you'll often hear the recommendation to not repeat PCR testing within 90 days of known infection because it is expected to stay positive long after illness has resolved.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:55 pm

It's also why we need easily accessible RATs and to verify they're still working well with current variants.

In better (?) news, Novavax has been approved for 18+ here in the United States. This was done (I think) to help with people that were hesitating over the mRNA vaccinations - Novavax is a more traditional offering:

Novavax's vaccine will enter the U.S. at a time when more than three-fourths of U.S. adults, 77%, are now fully vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna and to a much lesser degree Johnson & Johnson's shots, according to CDC data.

U.S. health officials and Novavax executives have said the vaccine will provide another option for people who do not want to take Pfizer and Moderna's shots. Anywhere from 26 million to 37 million adults are still unvaccinated in the U.S., according to CDC data, but it's unclear how many of those people will opt to take Novavax's vaccine.

...

"The primary target population for Novavax will be the 10% to 13% of those that are unvaccinated," said Dr. Oliver Brooks, a committee member and chief medical officer at Watts HealthCare Corporation in Los Angeles.

"I understand we're really focused on that population with the hope that perhaps this protein subunit vaccine will change them over from being unvaccinated to vaccinated," Brooks said.

The details:

Novavax's vaccine uses a different platform than Pfizer's and Moderna's shots. The Novavax vaccine is based on protein technology already used in HPV and hepatitis B vaccines.

Novavax's shots are also stored at normal refrigerator temperatures, while Pfizer's and Moderna's shots require subzero cold.

The CDC and the FDA have not approved mixing and matching Novavax's vaccine with Pfizer's and Moderna's shots as a booster. Novavax has said it plans to ask the FDA to authorize a booster shot of its vaccine.

Just a note: Walensky has already given approval; it's a two-dose series.

Jaymon · Post by **Jaymon** » Wed Jul 20, 2022 5:12 pm

We had a few potential exposures the past couple of weeks, besides the regular chance of exposure just from shopping and whatnot.
Did the at home test twice, but negative each time, however, I got those tests last fall, so who knows.

I have been really tired lately, like notably more tired than normal, so I ordered an oximeter.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Jul 20, 2022 7:36 pm

One of our docs who has worked in the COVID clinic sind day 1 without getting COVID recently took a much deserved vacation. They went overseas and got COVID almost immediately.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sat Jul 23, 2022 4:14 pm

News about boosters for the < 50 crowd came out late yesterday, so you know it's good:

Booster shots of the coronavirus vaccine for people younger than 50 are on hold as the Biden administration tries to accelerate a fall vaccination campaign using reformulated shots that target the now-dominant omicron subvariants, according to federal health officials.

Officials are hoping vaccine makers - Moderna and Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech - are able to make the updated shots available as soon as early to mid-September instead of later in the fall, said three officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the issue.

I feel like the development and release of a successful vaccine was the peak of our response. Everything after that has been downhill and the bar continues to be lowered seemingly once a week.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Sat Jul 23, 2022 4:36 pm

Mid September? That's a huge disappointment for me. I was hoping for early to mid August to help build my immunity before school lets in. By mid September it will already be a half month too late, with another two weeks needed for the shot to take effect.

My plan is foiled.