There's a new COVID-19 booster

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What to Know About the New COVID-19 Vaccine Booster By Alice Park Senior Health Correspondent As much as most of us would like to think the pandemic is behind us, COVID-19 is still very much around. With hospitalizations rising since mid-summer, health officials are watching new variants that have an alarming number of mutations. So the U.S. Food and Drug Administration greenlit an updated COVID-19 vaccine on Sept. 11, and the following day the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the new shot for everyone six months and older.  After listening to the day-long discussion of CDC’s panel of vaccine experts, here’s what I learned: The new vaccine targets XBB.1.5, the variant that was causing the most infections earlier this summer when the FDA asked vaccine makers to start manufacturing shots in order to build up an adequate supply for the fall and winter. XBB.1.5 is no longer causing most infections now. But data from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNtech, and Novavax showed that the XBB vaccine produces good antibody immune responses against other new variants too. The updated vaccine will be the first COVID-19 shot that won’t be paid for by the government, but those who can’t afford it can get the shot through the CDC’s Bridge Access Program, and local sites will be available on vaccines.gov by the end of the week. Most insurers will continue to cover the COVID-19 vaccine with no co-pay. READ MORE Share This Story

What Else to Read 4 Ways to Help Your Child Adapt to Life's Rapid Changes By Heather Tedesco, Jennifer Weaver, and Catherine McCarthy 'Perhaps the word "maybe" should be our new parenting mantra,' write Heather Tedesco, Jennifer Weaver, and Catherine McCarthy. Read More » Common Nasal Decongestant Doesn’t Actually Work, According to FDA Advisors By Cailley LaPara / Bloomberg A panel of advisers to the U.S. FDA said that phenylephrine, a main component of over-the-counter cold medicines, doesn't actually work. Read More » What It's Like to Be 'Mind Blind' By Nayantara Dutta Aphantasia, or mind blindness, refers to an inability to visualize imagery. Read More » Why Ultra-Processed Foods Are So Bad for You By Tara Law Recent research finds that highly processed food may pose health risks. Read More » How to Survive on Less Sleep By Abigail Abrams It's possible to train your body to need less sleep, some research has found. But it won't work for everyone. (Originally published in 2017.) Read More »

ONE LAST READ George W. Bush on a program that saves millions of lives The administration of President George W. Bush is littered with controversy and miscues, but there's one initiative virtually everyone agree was an absolute success: his plan to send millions of dollars to Africa for AIDS relief. Now writing 20 years later in the Washington Post, Bush summons the words of his late speech writer Michael Gerson to urge Congress to reauthorize the life-saving program. Read More »

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