# Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2022 Breaking News **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 1, 2022, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022 "2022-01-01T05:02:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 34
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/663 "2022-08-16T19:32:02Z")
News from today: > **[Covid: UK first country to approve dual-strain vaccine](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62548336)** > > The bivalent vaccine will now form part of the booster campaign to be rolled out this autumn. > **The UK has become the first country to approve a dual vaccine which tackles both the original Covid virus and the newer Omicron variant…** > > …Moderna thinks 13 million doses of its new vaccine will be available this year, but 26 million people are eligible for some form of booster. > > Health officials say people should take whichever booster they are offered as all jabs provide protection. The procedure for approving a vaccine with a new active (but using the same vehicle) is based on (amongst other things) limited human safety studies and immunogenicity studies\*. They are detailed briefly in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC): [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment\_data/file/1097996/Spikexax\_bivalent\_Original\_Omicron\_SmPC.pdf](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1097996/Spikexax_bivalent_Original_Omicron_SmPC.pdf) Approval was based on human studies on 437 subjects, together with a vast wealth of experience with the “parent” vaccine, on which the revised version is based. So if you search the SmPC for “437” you’ll find summaries of the new human study data. j \* - I believe this is true of both Europe and the US; and by extension most of the rest of the world would, I’m sure, accept this approach. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/664 "2022-08-17T00:47:09Z")
The US hasn’t approved a bivalent vaccine, yet, but it’s placed orders for a lot of doses for “early this fall” > **[Biden-Harris Administration Secures 66 Million Doses of Moderna’s...](https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/07/29/biden-harris-administration-secures-66-million-doses-modernas-variant-specific-covid-19-vaccine-booster-for-potential-use-in-fall-winter-2022.html)** > > HHS in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense, announced an agreement to purchase 66 million doses of Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster It will take a little longer to treat, because they started later, having decided to target B4/5, rather than BA1. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/665 "2022-08-19T14:08:44Z")
A New York Times documentary ([“Superspreader”](https://www.syracuse.com/tv/2022/08/how-to-watch-the-new-york-times-presents-superspreader-fx-hulu-documentary-on-dr-joseph-mercolas-covid-misinformation.html)) on one of the central figures in the [Disinformation Dozen](http://wbur.org/onpoint/2021/08/06/vaccine-misinformation-and-a-look-inside-the-disinformation-dozen), Joe Mercola airs tonight at 10 on F/X (and streams on Hulu and other platforms). Mercola has built an Internet-based sales empire and become wealthy spreading nonsense about miracle health treatments, engaging in antivaccine rants and more recently, downplaying the risk of Covid-19 (while spreading a conspiracy theory about its origins) and attacking effective handling of the pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/666 "2022-08-22T18:17:38Z")
Further to the article about the Moderna vaccine which is effective against both the original strain and the new Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, [here’s a newish article from WebMD](https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20220804/what-to-know-about-omicron-boosters-for-covid) stating that this new vaccine should be available in September. That’s a month ahead of the schedule which was stated in other articles I’ve read. That’s good - I’ll get this new Moderna booster as soon as it’s available, and in October (my usual time), I’ll get a flu shot. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/667 "2022-08-30T20:20:51Z")
> **[Long Covid is responsible for about a third of unfilled jobs in the U.S., new...](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/26/brookings-long-covid-keeps-millions-of-americans-out-of-workforce.html)** > > Long Covid is keeping up to 4 million Americans out of the workforce, says new Brookings Institution data. That's almost as much as the Great Resignation does monthly. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/668 "2022-08-30T21:59:46Z")
They’ve decided to treat it like a flu vaccine, and not do full human tests of the updated formula. That helps the timing. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/669 "2022-08-31T04:34:54Z")
Counter argument here: [https://twitter.com/BenMazer/status/1555167794433605633](https://twitter.com/BenMazer/status/1555167794433605633) Somehow the millions on disability due to Long Covid are utterly invisible in aggregate statistics. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/670 "2022-08-31T14:14:56Z")
> **[U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in ‘Historic’ Setback (Published 2022)](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/health/life-expectancy-covid-pandemic.html?smid=url-share)** > > The decline during the pandemic is the sharpest in nearly 100 years, hitting Native American and Alaska Native communities particularly hard. > The average life expectancy of Americans fell precipitously in 2020 and 2021, the sharpest two-year decline in nearly 100 years and a stark reminder of the toll exacted on the nation by the continuing coronavirus pandemic. > > In 2021, the average American could expect to live until the age of 76, federal health researchers reported on Wednesday. The figure represents a loss of almost three years since 2019, when Americans could expect to live, on average, nearly 79 years. > > (…) > > While the pandemic has driven most of the decline in life expectancy, a rise in accidental deaths and drug overdoses also contributed, as did deaths from heart disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, the new report found. > > Until now, experts have been accustomed to measuring life expectancy changes in increments of months, not years. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2022, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/671 "2022-08-31T17:28:48Z")
I read another article on this. Most countries recovered life expectancy some since 2000, when everyone’s dropped. The US dropped farther in 2021. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/672 "2022-09-01T22:45:18Z")
CDC approved the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent vaccines. Wollensky is expected to sign off soon, and they may be available as soon as this weekend. I’ll probably wait and get it closer to the holidays. Quite possibly with my flu shot. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/673 "2022-09-01T23:49:47Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’ll probably wait and get it closer to the holidays. Quite possibly with my flu shot. I’m probably going to try to get one in the 1st half of November. That should give me time to recover (if needed) before Thanksgiving, but my immune system will still be fully primed when Christmas arrives. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/674 "2022-09-03T01:14:49Z")
I saw a notice today that Walgreens (in Memphis) will have the new booster starting next week. They are accepting appointments. I looked at the Kroger site (where I prefer to go) and in the process of looking for appointments, it said I was not eligible. I’m assuming their site is just not updated for the new one yet. It’s been six months since my last booster and I’d like to get this one in the next week or so. ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/675 "2022-09-03T19:17:47Z")
I stopped by our local CVS this morning for something else, and asked the pharmacists when they’d get the bivalent vaccine in. They said they had it now, but I had to get an appointment online to get it. So as soon as I post this, I’ll go online and get appointments for next Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/676 "2022-09-03T20:03:36Z")
Some reports are saying that if you’ve had COVID recently, you should put off getting the booster for a few months. But I can’t find an official statement from, say, the CDC to that effect. This is relevant to me because I just had COVID a couple weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/677 "2022-09-03T20:10:07Z")
The CDC is still ignoring infection-based immunity. But your local epidemiologist has a good article about when to get boosted this fall > **[Considerations for your fall booster](https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/considerations-for-your-fall-booster?r=zgvzt&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct)** > > This fall, everyone should get a bivalent COVID-19 booster. And, really, that’s all you need to know: Get a vaccine. Any bivalent vaccine. This fall. But, yes, we can use scientific data to optimize timing and, thus, protection. How long after... She recommends you consider your last exposure, whether that was a booster or an infection. She also suggests that you’re probably better off waiting 3 months than 2. Not because it’s dangerous to get the vaccine sooner, but because you are likely to get less benefit from it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/678 "2022-09-05T21:05:03Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The CDC is still ignoring infection-based immunity. No, the CDC has looked closely at infection-based immunity [(example here)](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e1.htm). A reminder: immunity after contracting Covid-19 may under some circumstances be superior to vaccine-produced immunity, but is still likely to wane over time - and most importantly _requires you to get sick_ (and potentially deathly ill) first. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/679 "2022-09-05T21:18:07Z")
Let me rephrase that. I don’t think any nation’s health authorities are recommending that anyone go out and catch covid. That would be absurd. But most do take into account your past infections when recommending future actions. However, the CDC is ignoring infection-based immunity in making timing recommendations regarding when to get a booster. I believe most countries ask “when were you last exposed”, not “when were you last vaccinated” when recommending boosters. The former is the better question, because while a vaccine right after recovering from an infection isn’t harmful, it’s basically wasted. You’d do better to save your place in line (so to speak) until it will do you more good. BECAUSE infection-based immunity also wanes over time. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/680 "2022-09-05T21:33:01Z")
I’ve decided to get the vaccine in early November. That’ll be about two and a half months since I had COVID and two weeks before I attend a large family reunion for Thanksgiving. Seems like a good compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/681 "2022-09-05T22:50:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > However, the CDC is ignoring infection-based immunity in making timing recommendations regarding when to get a booster. Even rephrased, that is untrue. The CDC follows the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)'s recommendations on this and other vaccination issues. From ACIP: - At a minimum, defer any COVID-19 vaccination, including bivalent booster vaccination, at least until recovery from the acute illness (if symptoms were present) and criteria to discontinue isolation have been met. ▪ In addition, people who recently had SARS-CoV-2 infection may consider delaying any COVID-19 vaccination, including bivalent booster vaccination, by 3 months from symptom onset or positive test (if infection was asymptomatic). ▪ Individual factors such as risk of COVID-19 severe disease, COVID-19 community level, or characteristics of the predominant SARS-CoV-2 strain should be taken into account when determining whether to delay getting a COVID-19 vaccination after infection. > **[09-COVID-Hall-508.pdf](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-09-01/09-COVID-Hall-508.pdf)** > > 1198.96 KB ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022/682 "2022-09-05T22:58:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > In addition, people who recently had SARS-CoV-2 infection may consider delaying any COVID-19 vaccination, including bivalent booster vaccination, by 3 months from symptom onset or positive test (if infection was asymptomatic). Oh, thanks. I’m glad to be wrong about that. Mea culpa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022.md?page=33) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2022-breaking-news/957022.md?page=35)