9-2-21 People who experience breakthrough infections of the coronavirus after being fully vaccinated are about 50% less likely to experience long COVID-19 than are unvaccinated people who catch the virus, researchers said in a large new report on British adults.

9-4-21 Yale study encompassing 350,000 people in 600 villages in India found that in areas where masking intervention increased masking from 14% to 43%, symptomatic cases of COVID-19 were reduced by 10%. 100 percent masking would have likely had a much larger effect. Also, it found that surgical masks were more effective than cloth masks.

9-8-21 "The endgame is to suppress the virus. Right now, we're still in pandemic mode, because we have 160,000 new infections a day. That's not even modestly good control ... which means it's a public health threat...In a country of our size, you can't be hanging around and having 100,000 infections a day. You've got to get well below 10,000 before you start feeling comfortable," Fauci says.

9-9-21 President Biden announced that all employers with more than 100 workers must require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly.

9-15-21 A Moderna study shows lower risk of breakthrough infection in participants vaccinated more recently (median 8 months after first dose) than participants vaccinated last year (median 13 months after first dose. (49.0 cases per 1000 person-years in the recently vaccinated group compared to 77.1 cases per 1000 person-years in the group vaccinated last year.) Only 19 severe cases were observed.

9-17-21 A study of 3,700 showed that overall healthy adults with the Moderna COVID vaccine had 93% vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization over five months compared to those with 88% protection with Pfizer and 71% from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to a new report from the CDC shows. Vaccine effectiveness for those 14-120 days after the second dose of Moderna was 93% and dropped to 92% after about four months, the data show.

9-17-21 An FDA Advisory Panel voted 16 to 3 against recommending Pfizer boosters for people ages 16 and up - but unanimously recommended the shots for adults ages 65 and up or those at high risk of severe disease. Pfizer data showed that the vaccine's effectiveness against breakthrough infections fell significantly over time - to 47% efficacy after five months, down from 88% in the month following dose two. Moderna's data showed a smaller dropoff in efficacy against Delta infections. A study that's still awaiting peer review found that Moderna's vaccine was 87% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections after three months - down from 94% prior to the rise of Delta.

9-17-21 Donald Trump sent a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to start "decertifying" the 2020 election.

9-20-21 COVID booster shots available to eligible people.

9-23-21 A study in the U.K. analyzed brain imaging data from over 45,000 people and found marked differences in gray matter – which is made up of the cell bodies of neurons that process information in the brain – between those who had been infected with COVID-19 and those who had not (even mild cases). Specifically, the thickness of the gray matter tissue in brain regions known as the frontal and temporal lobes was reduced in the COVID-19 group, differing from the typical patterns seen in the group that hadn’t experienced COVID-19. Finally, researchers also investigated changes in performance on cognitive tasks and found that those who had contracted COVID-19 were slower in processing information, relative to those who had not.

9-24-21 Three oral anti-viral medicines are currently being tested for efficacy in clinical trials, and a decision on approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could come within the next few months. An early trial of 202 patients who used molnupiravir showed that the drug was effective in treating coronavirus.

9-27-21 All health care workers in New York State must be vaccinated against Covid-19 as of 9-27. The vaccination rates increased considerably over the last four weeks as the state crept closer to the vaccine deadline, and as of the deadline 92% of hospital staff, 92% of nursing home staff, and 89% of adult care facility staff had at least one vaccine dose. Staff shortages are still expected.