Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #112

[Warwick1991]

At this point, I think the vaccine developers are looking at WHO and various countries outside the US for updating the targeted strains. There's a market outside the US, so there are some incentives to keep the vaccines updated. But I think we could be losing ground. I haven't seen any new COVID treatments marketed yet, either.

The path taken here in the US for vaccines is both absurd and tragic.

 

[PCHS]

At this point, I think the vaccine developers are looking at WHO and various countries outside the US for updating the targeted strains. There's a market outside the US, so there are some incentives to keep the vaccines updated. But I think we could be losing ground. I haven't seen any new COVID treatments marketed yet, either.

The path taken here in the US for vaccines is both absurd and tragic.

Yes in Canada there is a clinical trial in human testing now on an inhaled vaccine that may prevent infection. Question is if it gets through human testing, then how long would it be effective. I mean if that comes out I'm loading up an RV and going up there...

 

[Gemmie]

Great.... The Moderna mNEXSPIKE vaccine I'm scheduled to get in a week wasn't formulated to target this highly mutated variant. A new lineage BA.3.2.

The highly mutated SARS-CoV-2 BA.3.2 variant, which has been reported by at least 23 countries as of February 11, has been detected in nasal swabs collected from four US travelers, clinical samples from five patients, three airplane wastewater samples, and 132 wastewater surveillance samples from 25 states, per a study published last week in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

First identified in a respiratory sample in South Africa in November 2024, the strain has roughly 70 to 75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of its spike protein relative to the JN.1 variant and its descendant, LP.8.1, the antigens used in the latest COVID-19 vaccines.

“BA.3.2 represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages (including LP.8.1 and XFG) that have circulated in the United States since January 2024,” wrote the authors, led by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers. The CDC uses digital public health surveillance to monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants around the world.

New COVID variant with immune escape potential confirmed in US, 22 other countries

BA.3.2 represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2, genetically distinct from the JN.1 lineages that have circulated in the US since January 2024.

www.cidrap.umn.edu

 

[Gemmie]

Here is info on what Moderna's mNEXSPIKE is targeting for the 2025/2026 season. mNEXSPIKE was specifically designed for 65 and older and over 12 high risk individuals.

https://www.fda.gov/files/vaccines%2C%20blood%20%26%20biologics/published/Package-Insert-MNEXSPIKE.pdf

 

[Warwick1991]

I had the Pfizer vaccine. It appears that it is not optimized for the BA 3.2 strain. An updated vaccine is needed.

I'm not sure which strain I have. It is like a very bad cold/URI, and also caused gastrointestinal symptoms for 3 days. The testing used in the hospital doesn't say the strain, although perhaps they know

 

[Gemmie]

I had the Pfizer vaccine. I will look further at what it covers ....

It's not the vaccine makers choice, the WHO makes that determination, and then the vaccine makers adhere to it.

In September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC). This is an independent and multidisciplinary group of experts that assesses the public health implications of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines and issues timely recommendations on proposed modifications to vaccine antigen composition. Specifically, the TAG-CO-VAC considers the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination, and the performance of COVID-19 vaccine products against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. Based on these assessments, the TAG-CO-VAC evaluates the implications for COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition and issues recommendations to WHO to either maintain current COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition or to consider updates.

Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC)

The Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) is an independent group of experts that will periodically review the evidence and analyze the implications of emerging VOCs on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines.

www.who.int

 

[Warwick1991]

I think the vaccine formulation for this season ended up being late and possibly too cautious, not only due to WHO, but due to the US CDC. All 17 members of the US vaccine advisory board (ACIP) were all terminated by the CDC in June 2025, which at the very least threw the approval process into disarray. The price of this disruption may echo throughout the world.

Ousted vaccine panel members say rigorous science is being abandoned under RFK Jr.

Seventeen experts ousted from a U.S. vaccine committee are expressing little faith in what the panel has become.

www.pbs.org

 

[Gemmie]

I think the vaccine formulation for this season ended up being late and possibly too cautious, not only due to WHO, but due to the US CDC. All 17 members of the US vaccine advisory board (ACIP) were all terminated by the CDC in June 2025, which at the very least threw the approval process into disarray. The price of this disruption may echo throughout the world.

Ousted vaccine panel members say rigorous science is being abandoned under RFK Jr.

Seventeen experts ousted from a U.S. vaccine committee are expressing little faith in what the panel has become.

www.pbs.org

Yes, it did throw a wrench into things, didn't it? Hopefully the 2026/2027 formula will go on without a hitch and be more focused on what's actually currently going around.

 

[Teche]

I received a message from CVS last week stating that it's time for my COVID-19 vaccine. My last 2 vaccines were from Costco. Has a new vaccine been released?

 

[Gemmie]

I received a message from CVS last week stating that it's time for my COVID-19 vaccine. My last 2 vaccines were from Costco. Has a new vaccine been released?

No. New vaccine formulas come out every Fall in September. Your notification is because it's been 6 months since September. The formula is good for a year. In other words... we're talking about the 2025/2026 vaccine (Sept 2025/March 2026). A new formula called 2026/2027 hopefully will be out in the fall as I said unless Kennedy puts a stop to it.

Not that you have to adhere to the Sept/March schedule... you can get them any time. But a lot of us stick to that schedule.

 

[Warwick1991]

I received a message from CVS last week stating that it's time for my COVID-19 vaccine. My last 2 vaccines were from Costco. Has a new vaccine been released?

The newest vaccine for COVID was available in the fall of 2025, although availability varied due to the new reluctance to approve them for general use. I got mine on October 8, 2025, and one can follow up with a booster this year. To the best of my knowledge, there's no updated vaccine beyond what was release in the fall.

My guess is that CVS doesn't know you have been vaccinated elsewhere.

 

[Warwick1991]

You can also get a booster shot. Since I am over 65 with asthma, I have been doing that. Usually the minimum wait is about 2 months after the first one, although the usual interval is at least 6 months. In my case, since I have Covid now, I may need to wait longer. The CDC website still has information on booster shots: 2025–2026 COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance

 

[Gemmie]

You can also get a booster shot. Since I am over 65 with asthma, I have been doing that. Usually the minimum wait is about 2 months after the first one, although the usual interval is at least 6 months. In my case, since I have Covid now, I may need to wait longer. The CDC website still has information on booster shots: 2025–2026 COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance

They stopped calling them boosters back in 2023 but it's lingering on.

New COVID vaccine shots aren't being called "boosters." Here's why.​

Published : September 15, 2023
Ref: CBS News

• Instead of using the terms booster, doctors and health departments are now working on getting used to calling this year's newly recommended COVID-19 shots the "2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine" or simply the "updated COVID-19 vaccine," CBS News reported on Friday.
• "Bye bye, booster. We are no longer giving boosters, and it's going to be very difficult to stop using that word because that word has become pervasive," said Keipp Talbot, a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's committee of vaccine advisers.
• "We are beginning to think of COVID like influenza. Influenza changes each year, and we give a new vaccine for each year. We don't 'boost' each year," Talbot added.
• The change in terminology stems from a proposal to simplify the schedule of authorised and approved COVID-19 vaccines.

https://firstwordpharma.com/story/5781369

 

[Warwick1991]

Some sources are still calling additional vaccine doses of the same formulation in the same 12 month period "boosters." But in general, the vaccine formulations are now changing enough from year to year, so as the annual formulations are released, they're not boosters any more.

 

[Gemmie]

This is alarming. We need them to grow up and be fully functioning adults.

A growing body of research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the development of key cognitive skills that help children make plans, control their impulses, and adapt to new situations.

Several long-term studies conducted before, during, and after the pandemic have found significant declines in children’s executive functioning, a set of mental skills that help people set goals, focus, and get things done. Executive function skills include flexible thinking, inhibition control, and working memory, which allows people to remember information without losing track of what they’re doing—such as when working on math problems.

More at the link: Kids’ cognitive skills declined during COVID-19 pandemic, studies show

 

[Warwick1991]

This is alarming. We need them to grow up and be fully functioning adults.

A growing body of research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the development of key cognitive skills that help children make plans, control their impulses, and adapt to new situations.

Several long-term studies conducted before, during, and after the pandemic have found significant declines in children’s executive functioning, a set of mental skills that help people set goals, focus, and get things done. Executive function skills include flexible thinking, inhibition control, and working memory, which allows people to remember information without losing track of what they’re doing—such as when working on math problems.

More at the link: Kids’ cognitive skills declined during COVID-19 pandemic, studies show

The pandemic had a great effect on many people, not just those who caught COVID. Anxiety was something felt by society as a whole, I think, as thousands died from a new virus with no treatment or vaccine available during a lengthy period. Isolation was responsible for a decline in social skills, not just for children, but adults as well. Work stopped for many, and remote learning was a difficult adjustment. What formerly seemed normal and certain disappeared for a time. It was a situation that demanded a great deal of resiliency.

I think that many will recover over time, although it is important to identify those who are struggling and come up with ideas to improve the situation. JMO

 

[Warwick1991]

I'm still sick from COVID. Unfortunately I'm not over it yet. I will have to cancel a dental appointment next week, and delay picking up some new prescription eyeglasses.

I've had it for at least 2 weeks now, and still have symptoms. Not severe enough to go back to the ER, though... I hope things will improve over the weekend.

 

[Gemmie]

I'm still sick from COVID. Unfortunately I'm not over it yet. I will have to cancel a dental appointment next week, and delay picking up some new prescription eyeglasses.

I've had it for at least 2 weeks now, and still have symptoms. Not severe enough to go back to the ER, though... I hope things will improve over the weekend.

I'm sorry you're still not feeling well and hope you're back on your feet feeling good in no time.

It appears that (likely) what you caught has been named cicada.

BA.3.2, a heavily mutated new COVID-19 variant which may be better able to escape immunity from vaccines or prior infection, is now spreading in the United States.

the BA.3.2 strain is gaining traction around the globe. BA.3.2, aka "cicada," emerged over a year ago and slowly simmered until last fall, when it started ramping up in several countries, including the U.S.

Perhaps more concerning is the variant's slew of genetic changes in its spike protein, which set it apart from other variants circulating, Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, tells TODAY.com.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates constantly as it spreads, which leads to the emergence of new variants. Most of the strains spreading right now are closely related, with slight genetic differences. But BA.3.2 stands out, according to experts.

“It has a lot of mutations that may cause it to look different to your immune system,” Pekosz says.

More at the link: A New, Highly Mutated COVID Variant Called 'Cicada' Is Spreading in the US. Know These Symptoms

 

[Gemmie]

Interesting that this strain hibernated for 4-5 years. How many other strains are doing just this? Waiting to emerge their ugly heads just to be stronger and more capable at evading the vaccines? It ain't over, folks, and speaking only for where I live... next to NO ONE masks up.

More info on cicda:

Nicknamed the “cicada” variant due to its stealth and lengthy hibernation, BA.3.2 derives from a strain that first emerged during late 2021 to 2022, according to the CDC. The variant’s time jump also has implications for COVID vaccination: health officials have said early studies suggest BA.3.2 is “efficiently” evading antibodies from the 2025-2026 shots, which are largely aimed at the predominant JN.1 strains.

More at the link: What to know about the highly mutated new COVID strain found in Mass. wastewater

 

[Gemmie]

Just when I think I can't be shocked by something... I guess I shouldn't be when it comes to Covid and those not wanting vaccines (or vaccinated blood as it appears).

A growing number of patients who need transfusions are asking for blood from unvaccinated donors, a difficult request to honor, given that blood centers don’t ask donors if they’ve been vaccinated and don’t label blood according to vaccinated status.

The requests for “unvaccinated blood” increased after the release of COVID-19 vaccines, which saved an estimated 20 million lives in their first year of use, but which have been the subject of misinformation and conspiracy theories.

More people requesting ‘unvaccinated’ blood for themselves or their children

www.cidrap.umn.edu