An informed guide to the pandemic, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. |
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 | | The New York Times |
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 | | A new vaccine is on the market.Karen Ducey/Getty Images |
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While Novavax doses are expected to play a limited role in the country's immunization campaign, at least initially, having another approved tool to fight the virus as it continues to mutate is a positive development. Here's what else you need to know about the new shot. |
The technology. Contrary to the three Covid vaccines authorized in the U.S., the Novavax version provokes an immune response with nanoparticles made up of proteins from the surface of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Similar protein-based vaccines have been used globally for decades. |
Effectiveness. With two doses spaced three weeks apart, the vaccine demonstrated an overall efficacy of 90.4 percent, on par with the vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, and higher than the one-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The Novavax vaccine showed an efficacy of 100 percent at preventing moderate or severe disease. |
Versus Omicron. The vaccine was tested before the emergence of the variant, which has sharply reduced the effectiveness of other authorized vaccines in preventing infections. However, Novavax is developing new versions of its vaccine that target Omicron and its highly contagious subvariants. Preliminary data from laboratory and animal studies indicate that a booster shot aimed at the BA.1 subvariant, which preceded the current highly infectious BA.5 version, generates strong immune responses to the virus. The company says it expects to have results from a clinical trial of that shot in September, with doses ready in the last three months of the year. |
Side effects. Novavax's vaccine is linked to an elevated but small risk of forms of heart inflammation known as myocarditis and pericarditis. The company said it had identified 17 definite or probable cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in over one million doses. The mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are also linked to an elevated risk of these conditions, but that link did not emerge until after they were put into large-scale use. |
As a booster. Trials have also shown that Novavax's shot works well as a booster, and the company is expected soon to seek authorization for it to be used that way. But the C.D.C. recommended that it be used as an option for adults as their first vaccination against the coronavirus. |
Novavax is hoping its shot will appeal to the millions of people who have so far declined to be vaccinated, perhaps because they are wary of the technology behind the mRNA vaccines. |
 | | Photo Illustration by Tonje Thilesen for The New York Times |
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We all know what happened with summer 2020. Then 2021 was dampened by Delta. This year, any anticipated return to revelry for some has been hampered by, well, everything. |
Anxiety over the approaching midterms. Monkeypox. Mass shootings. Travel chaos. |
"There is something called hedonic adaptation, and research shows that humans have a remarkable ability to get used to or get accustomed to changes in our lives," said Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, who studies happiness. For example, if you marry someone you may have a boost of happiness at first, but it doesn't last, and you will go back to your previous baseline. |
The same is true for negative changes. If you experience disappointment that your expectations are not being met, eventually you will become used to it and feel happy again. "With most negative changes, we are able to get used to them and revert back to our previous happiness baseline," she said. |
As for this summer, Dr. Lyubomirsky suggested keeping the company of others (something that is also easier in the summer), saying that some studies show that any form of connection brings joy. She also said that something that is scientifically proven to bring more joy into our lives is to have gratitude for what we do have. |
"Gratitude seems kind of hokey, but research shows it's really powerful," she said. |
Have you been reinfected? |
Early in the pandemic, many people assumed that infection with the coronavirus meant they were no longer at risk of a repeat bout of the illness. There was even talk about "the immunes" — people who recovered and went back to their lives while the rest of us were locked down at home. |
But as the latest wave has shown, re-infections have become more common. Already, many people are reporting their second or even third infections of the pandemic, even after receiving their booster shots. |
Does that sound like you? If so, we want to talk. |
We're asking readers who've battled Covid more than once: What's your advice for getting through a Covid infection? As someone who has been through the experience more than once, what are your best tips for getting through it — physically, mentally or otherwise? |
What else we're following |
We've managed to escape infection until last week. The day before I gave birth to our second child, I got the dreaded double line on an at-home rapid test. The hospital I delivered at was incredibly supportive, but my husband was still unable to be there the moment his daughter was born. I still haven't been able to touch my cheek to hers as we've been masking. Now that we're home, every family member that came to help us has tested positive. However, I'm grateful beyond words to the pharmacist who administered a second booster to me at 34 weeks pregnant to allow my little one some amount of antibodies before she was born and for giving me the extra help my body needed to fight this infection off quickly. Still, I can't help but be angry at all the things Covid has stolen from me in my second birth. We'll all be OK because we're all vaccinated and boosted, but we'll never get back the experiences that have been taken from us. — Danielle Wunderlich, Jacksonville, Fla. |
Let us know how you're dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
| Thanks for reading. I'll be back Friday. — Jonathan |
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