Virus Briefing: New data on updated boosters

Plus a 3-year-old died in China after Covid restrictions limited care.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 4, 2022 Here's your update on the coronavirus pandemic and other virus news. TOP NEWS Hannah Beier/Reuters Study Shows New Booster Improves Protection for Older People, Pfizer Says Federal officials are hoping that the encouraging results will spur more Americans to get an updated booster before a feared surge in coronavirus cases this winter. By Sharon LaFraniere Pool photo by Kay Nietfeld Germany's Leader Seeks Accord With China on Covid Vaccines Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a visit to Beijing that China and the European Union were working toward approval of each other's pandemic vaccines. By Keith Bradsher and Melissa Eddy Yang Zhibin/Visual China Group, via Getty Images 3-Year-Old in China Dies After Covid Restrictions Delayed Care When the boy's father asked for help getting his son to the hospital, he was told to put on a mask. Local officials promised to "learn from this painful lesson." By Joy Dong and Vivian Wang Getty Images New Covid Variants Are Circulating. Here's What to Know. The "nightmare variant" is not as bad as it sounds. By Knvul Sheikh Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times The Pandemic Generation Goes to College. It Has Not Been Easy. Students missed a lot of high school instruction. Now many are behind, especially in math, and getting that degree could be harder. By Eliza Fawcett Louise Delmotte for The New York Times In Bid to Show It Is Open, Hong Kong Bends Covid Rules … for Some Three splashy events this week were meant to prove that the former British colony was still "Asia's World City." But Covid exemptions were provided for visitors from overseas, especially the wealthy ones. By Alexandra Stevenson and Tiffany May What else we're following Coronavirus Covid cases in China are at their highest level in nearly three months, Reuters reports. Pfizer and BioNTech began a study on a combined Covid and flu vaccine, Reuters reports. Vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations may have cost more than one million lives, Nature reports. The Los Angeles Times asks: Are the unvaccinated still a threat to the rest of us? R.S.V. ABC News reports that cases in the U.S. have hit a two-year high, according to C.D.C. data. The European Commission approved Sanofi and AstraZeneca's R.S.V. vaccine for infants, Reuters reports. Increased demand for amoxicillin amid the R.S.V. surge has led to shortages of the antibiotic, The Washington Post reports. Monkeypox New research suggests that the virus can be transmitted before the first symptoms appear, Reuters reports. A new study found that cases in people under 18 are rare and largely not severe, U.S. News reports. Ebola The death toll from the outbreak in Uganda rose to 48, with 131 confirmed cases, Reuters reports. In Opinion, the national incident manager for Ebola for Uganda's Ministry of Health argues that the outbreak is testing what we learned during the Covid pandemic. Email your thoughts to virusbriefing@nytimes.com. Did a friend forward you the briefing? Sign up here. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Virus Briefing from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018