Mastodawn

MicroWave Aug 25, 2023

COVID boosters are still weeks away as cases surge in the U.S.

COVID boosters are still weeks away as cases surge in the U.S. - Lemmy.world

As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations creep up during a summer wave of heightened virus activity, updated vaccines are still likely weeks away. Why it matters: - Americans have largely tuned out COVID, but the latest COVID uptick is a reminder that the virus continues to circulate and mutate — though the threat is far below pandemic-era levels. - Health officials face a challenge convincing a pandemic-fatigued public to get an updated COVID shot, as vaccine uptake has declined with each successive booster.

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Bipta Aug 25, 2023

There's little reason to believe the new shots will be highly protective against BA.2.86, so we'd better hope it gets outcompeted.

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athos77

First, it's a sub-variant of omicron, so the new shots should provide some protection against it.

Secondly, per the CDC, as of yesterday:

At least two cases have been identified in the United States. [...] It is also important to note that the current increase in hospitalizations in the United States is not likely driven by the BA.2.86 variant. This assessment may change as additional data become available.

Risk Assessment Summary for SARS CoV-2 Sublineage BA.2.86 | CDC

Read the risk assessment CDC prepared about the new COVID-19 Variant BA2.86 being tracked.