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This is a bonus edition of John Bailey鈥檚 briefing on the pandemic. See the full archive.

Variants and Vaccines

BA.2.86 Variant

• This caused quite a bit of buzz a few weeks ago because scientists were concerned Some have dubbed the new variant 鈥淧irola.鈥�
• “ which burst onto the scene in the winter of 2021, resulting in a spike in infections.”
• “Two more lab groups 鈥� one from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and the other from Harvard University 鈥� have reported results of antibody neutralization lab experiments, which suggest vaccination or previous infection offer some protection against the highly mutated BA.2.86 SARS-CoV-2 variant.”
• Early indications are that the new boosters will work against this variant too:
  • “Moderna, Pfizer say versus BA.2.86.”
  • “These data were published () with Moderna鈥檚 XBB.1.5 booster and show very good levels of neutralizing antibodies induced against BA.2.86, in keeping with the response to the target of XBB.1.5. Also note the similar response to 2 of the major current circulating variants of EG.5.1 and FL.1.5.1.” 
  • We’re lucky,” Topol said. “This one could have been really bad.”
  • “Early research data has shown that antibodies produced by prior infection or existing vaccines against the coronavirus .”
    

Reformulated Vaccines

• The updated COVID vaccine is based on variant.
• CDC advisers make universal COVID vaccine recommendation: .
  • “The advisory committee voted 13-1 to recommend updated COVID-19 vaccines for people ages 6 months and older.” It came one day after the for emergency use mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
  • “Shortly after [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] vote, , which allows immunization campaigns to begin.”
  • Epidemiologist summarized the meetings.
• But: (Associated Press/NBC News)

State of Affairs

Another Summer Wave

• and continue to rise.

• : 鈥淩ecent analysis of the data shows the number of children under age 18 with confirmed COVID-19 at hospital admission increased nearly five-fold from 237 new admissions the week ending June 17 to 1,175 in the week ending Sept. 9.鈥�
• 鈥淛une had the lowest level of pediatric COVID-19 hospital admissions since data collection began in 2020.鈥�

Variants Fueling the Latest Wave

• The main variants driving cases are and , both XBB variant descendants that share a mutation known as F456L, which appears to be helping them spread more than other virus siblings. 

• 鈥淭he Biden administration [this week] that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is 鈥� aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus cases that has typically come during colder months.鈥�

More Key Insights

• Schools Grapple With COVID Safety Amid Late Summer Surge:

• CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen in the NYT: ““

• Anti-Vaccine Movement on the Rise:
• How Long Should You Wait?: with a good summary about when to get vaccinated after an infection and the latest on mixing-and-matching shots.
  
• Chronic Absenteeism: Via the and
• A Generation at Risk: Published by the Building Bridges Initiative, the is the product of a partnership between

鈥� And on a Lighter Note

• The Best of America: When Jaylan Gray’s mom died, he quit school to care for his brother. Shortly after, their house was in need of repair, that鈥檚 when a nonprofit stepped in to fix their home.

• Bear Cubs Getting in a Hammock:

Bear cubs getting in a hammock is one of the greatest videos of all time.

— Fascinating (@fasc1nate)

Living the Good Life: A dog making

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