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Moderna said its targeted booster shot increases the body’s defense against omicron subvariants.
“In blood drawn from people who received the bivalent booster, omicron-blocking antibody levels shot up 15 times higher than their pre-booster levels.”

The data is encouraging because it shows that the bivalent booster shots, which were updated to match the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of the omicron variant and began to roll out in September, are providing protection against newer coronavirus variants ahead of a possible winter surge of cases.

Moderna also said a preliminary analysis with a small number of subjects showed that the antibodies generated by the bivalent booster lost some potency against the challenging and rapidly growing BQ.1.1 subvariant but could still block it. BQ.1.1 makes up about a quarter of the cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The federal government kicked off its Vax up America Tour on Monday (today) in an effort to get as many people as possible inoculated with coronavirus booster shots. So far, only 8% of Americans have chosen to get the new bivalent booster. We got ours (Moderna) in late October.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now tracking the rise of another COVID-19 variant known as BN.1, according to figures published by the agency this month, marking the latest new Omicron descendant now spreading around the country this fall. BN.1 joins a crowded field of emerging Omicron variant descendants that have swelled in recent months, overtaking the BA.5 variant that had dominated cases over the summer. The BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants remain the most prevalent of the recent new strains. Close to half of infections nationwide are from one of the two, in the CDC's estimates. "Our best estimate is that it's doubling about every 10 days. So if you do the math, BQ.1.1 is likely to become dominant in the next months," Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House's top COVID-19 official, told CBS News last month in an interview.

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Why Masks Still Matter

Masks are a tool—a protective barrier—that can help to reduce the spread of respiratory infections, just as condoms are a barrier that can reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections. And as we head into winter, with rising rates of multiple respiratory viruses, including flu, RSV, and new coronavirus variants, masks could help all Americans to avoid getting sick. Although masks are an inconvenience (and not super comfortable), we continue to mask up indoors around strangers... Life would be "safer" for all if others did the same.

Mask use is on the decline in the United States. Recent public polling shows that nearly two thirds of Americans never wear a mask outside their homes, a sharp rise in dropping this safety measure.

"Even with the vaccines that we do have, while we will continue to be affected by respiratory viruses every year, the COVID-19 pandemic should remind us that we have a means to reduce spread through using high quality masks. Masks will likely help reduce the spread of multiple viruses and some bacteria—and while more data must be generated to understand how best to improve our community level efforts, we have enough already to tell us to mask up this season." Time News

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COVID-19 remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death globally.