PLUS: The Covid-19 headlines you need to know, a distraction, and something to read.
By Eve Sneider | 04.07.22 |
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| Shanghai residents speak out against restrictions, BA.2 gains traction in the US, and German leaders vote against a vaccine mandate. But first, here's this week's big story: | |
| A panel of FDA experts met earlier this week to discuss the possibility of new vaccines tailored to variants, and in particular whether a variant-specific booster should be made available this fall. For this to be possible, though, clinical trials for the new shots would have to start in the next month. In the meantime, the FDA and CDC signed off on fourth doses for people over 50 and immunocompromised adults last week, just a few weeks after drugmakers asked the FDA to authorize second boosters for older Americans. Still, some scientists in the US have expressed concern about this move, saying that there isn't enough data to support more boosters and that trotting out shot after shot is not a sustainable public health policy. European Union officials have also concluded that it's much too early to make second boosters available to the general population, approving them only for people over 80 and immunocompromised individuals. The issue of second boosters is rekindling many questions that came up when boosters were first approved last summer—notably who should get them and how shots can be equitably distributed worldwide. | |
| As Shanghai confronts its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic, residents are voicing dissatisfaction with China's zero-Covid approach with increasing fervor. (New York Times) New data from the CDC shows that the Omicron subvariant BA.2 now accounts for 72 percent of cases in the US, but there's no indication yet that the new strain is more severe than its predecessor. (NBC News) Today, the German parliament voted against a bill that would have made coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for anyone over the age of 60. (Politico EU) The CEOs of US airlines asked the White House to revisit its mask mandate on planes, even as overseas airlines have had to cancel flights after eased mask requirements led to more cases among staff. (CBS News) Nancy Pelosi announced today that she is the latest Washington official to test positive for Covid-19 this week, following Attorney General Merrick Garland and others. (NPR) | |
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| For a long time, people thought that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were untraceable. But when criminal investigators figured out how to track the transactions, they used that myth to their advantage. | |
| It's no secret that many of us spend too much time looking at screens. Here are our favorite board games—for when you and your family want to go analog. | |
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