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There is no evidence that BA.4 or 5 is not blocked by a well-fitting KN95 mask.

I mask whenever I am indoors with people unless I know them and know they are vaccinated and careful. When I have friends stay over I have them test first, which is not foolproof, but as I said, they are careful.

What we have is a perfect storm of a more infectious virus, lots of people who are not vaccinated or who are undervaccinated so who carry a higher viral load, and a population that has decided that it doesn't need to mask anymore. 200,000 people have died since January, but a lot of people haven't, due in part to a higher level of immunity in the population, so people feel bullet proof and are unworried about getting it multiple times. But here's the problem: COVID causes small vessel occlusions throughout the body, which may be the reason that each subsequent infection results in increased morbidity. I feel great now after my infection but I have no idea how my kidneys or liver or heart feel.

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My doc said that she's seen a lot of side effects with Paxlovid so she put me on molnupiravir. After I picked up the drug I read that it was less effective, but at that point I didn't care I just wanted something. I had no side effects.

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There is no evidence that BA.4 or 5 is not blocked by a well-fitting KN95 mask.

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Originally posted by Nina:
I have a stupid question - does anyone vary their mask type based on the situation? For example, if I'm at work just walking in between offices or in the hallway, I'll use a cloth mask with a paper filter insert. If I'm in a more public space (airport, hospital, restaurant, etc.) I'll use a KN95 or a K95. Am I just kidding myself? I prefer the cloth because it's more comfy, but maybe that's pretty much the equivalent of not wearing a mask at all....

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Originally posted by Nina:
I've never heard of KF94 - I'll check it out!

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The boosters, reformulated to take aim at the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants dominant in the United States, are scheduled to be reviewed by advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. If the outside experts recommend the shots, and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky agrees, some boosters may be available starting this weekend, with more showing up in pharmacies, doctors offices and clinics after Labor Day.

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The U.S. developed the world’s most widely used COVID-19 vaccines with brand-new technology in record time, but China just shot ahead in the huffing and sniffing phase of COVID-19 vaccine development.

On Sunday, China’s government approved CanSino Biologics’ inhaled COVID-19 vaccine for use as a booster dose. CanSino is a private, Tianjin-based vaccine maker that has partnered with the Chinese military-run Academy of Military Medical Sciences to produce COVID-19 vaccines. The inhaled vaccine uses the same technology as the firm’s World Health Organization–approved viral vector COVID-19 vaccine. The new version is breathed in through the mouth, and clinical trial data showed that it was more effective as a booster at preventing infections from Omicron and other variants than the injectable, inactivated vaccine from Chinese firm Sinovac. CanSino’s new vaccine is not just the first inhaled vaccine for COVID, it is the first inhaled vaccine for any disease.

The vaccine is “a game changer,” Pierre Morgon, an executive vice president at CanSino Biologics, told Fortune. “This is the first-ever inhaled vaccine to be commercialized. I’m so proud to be part of it.”

For now, the vaccine will only be available in China. But Morgon said he hopes that CanSino’s inhaled vaccine will be approved in more countries by the end of the year.

Some scientists in the U.S., meanwhile, have been calling on the Biden administration and vaccine manufacturers to step up efforts to produce an inhaled or nasal spray vaccine because of the technology’s potential to reduce transmission more effectively than injectable immunizations.