NYTimes: Moderna Says New Covid Booster Strengthens Immune Response Against Subvariants

New studies show that the new bivalent booster shot helps protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of Omicron. These results are promising as starting in September, 2022, most boosters given were this newer version. The data from Moderna comes from antibody production rather than efficacy tests. The CDC is performing the latter, but results aren’t expected for months. Scientists hope that as data continues to roll out, highlighting the protective value of the new boosters, that uptake will increase significantly. Right now, just about 10% of eligible Americans have received the shot, which is shockingly low. With uptake as another issue, vaccine developers must find a sweet spot between new shots that successfully target the most prevalent variants and frequency of vaccination. To read the full article, click here. To read more about COVID-19, click here.