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It’s a question that scientists have been trying to answer since the start of the pandemic, one that is central to the rancorous political debates over coronavirus vaccine policies: How much immunity does someone have after recovering from a coronavirus infection, and how does it compare with immunity provided by vaccination? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has weighed in for the first time in a detailed science report released with little fanfare Friday evening. Reviewing scores of research studies and its own unpublished data, the agency found that both infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity are durable for at least six months — but that vaccines are more consistent in their protection and offer a huge boost in antibodies for people previously infected. (Sun and Achenbach, 11/1)

A third Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine dose is 92% more effective in reducing severe COVID-related outcomes than two doses of the same vaccine received at least 5 months previously, according to a large real-world study late last week in The Lancet. The study, conducted by researchers with the Clalit Research Institute in Israel and Harvard University, took place from Jul 30 through Sep 23, during Israel's fourth COVID-19 wave, when the Delta (B1617.2) variant was overwhelmingly predominant. (11/1)

KHN: What Do We Really Know About Vaccine Effectiveness? 

The politicization of covid vaccines — and, well, just about everything else having to do with the pandemic — has led to confusion, if not utter fatigue. And some posts circulating on social media — this slickly edited piece on YouTube, for example — seem to build on these feelings, attempting to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the vaccines. This one intersperses comments from White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci extolling their protectiveness with screenshots of news headlines, starting with those citing 100% effectiveness, then moving through others reporting sharply lower percentages. Set to the rapidly increasing tempo of the orchestral piece “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” the video ends with headlines about drug company profits. (Appleby, 11/2)

While fully vaccinated people are a small percentage of those who contract COVID-19, some researchers are worried that racial disparities may persist among so-called “breakthrough” infections. One major challenge, these experts said, is that many state and county health departments do not track breakthrough cases. And even when they track breakthrough cases, they often don’t track those cases by race. Last month, in an opinion piece in The Washington Post, two researchers at Boston University and a prominent New York physician warned that the lack of data could hinder public health officials’ efforts to combat the coronavirus, particularly in communities of color that have been hit hardest by COVID-19. (Canales, 11/1)

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans dropped significantly since the vaccine rollout at the start of the year, new federal data show. The vaccines have worked extremely well for one of the most vulnerable demographics. Roughly 97% of people 65 and older have at least one vaccine dose, and more than 85% of that age group is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. (Herman, 11/2)

The decision to exclude pregnant people from the first wave of Covid-19 vaccine trials created a data gap that inadvertently fueled vaccine hesitancy — in some cases, with deadly consequences. With a lack of concrete data on the vaccines’ safety in pregnant and lactating people when they first became available, trusted sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists hedged on recommending the shots for those groups, instead advising patients to consult with their doctors. (Gardner, 11/1)

A federal judge has thrown out California’s new 30-foot buffer zone designed to restrict protests at coronavirus vaccination sites, though his ruling left in place other parts of a new state law despite arguments that it infringes on free speech. The law that took effect Oct. 8 makes it illegal to come within 30 feet (9.14 meters) of someone at a vaccination site “for the purpose of obstructing, injuring, harassing, intimidating, or interfering with that person.” (Thompson, 11/1)

At the beginning of North Carolina’s vaccine rollout, the rate of Latino people getting the shot lagged behind other groups. In March, just 2.5 percent of all vaccines administered were given to Hispanic residents, even though the group accounts for nearly 10 percent of the state’s population and was hit disproportionately hard by the virus. But now, Latino residents are vaccinated at a higher rate than the non-Latino population, according to the most recent data from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. Statewide, 67 percent of Hispanic residents 12 and older are vaccinated, a rate 10 percent higher than that of North Carolina’s non-hispanic population. (Donnelly-DeRoven, 11/1)

While West Virginia has long held the dubious distinction of having the nation’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state officials on Monday discussed a new form of vaccine hesitancy in the state: Low numbers of fully vaccinated individuals getting booster shots. “A great many people think, ‘I got my two doses, and I’m safe,’ and for a good while they were safe,” Gov. Jim Justice said Monday of the low percentage of West Virginians getting booster shots. “If they don’t get their booster shots, we’re going to need more body bags,” Justice asserted during the state COVID-19 briefing. (Kabler, 11/1)

One or two donuts, a car, one million dollars, $25, Super Bowl tickets, french fries. There’s a remarkable range of incentives and other methods devised to overcome Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy. While some of these ideas have stuck like spaghetti thrown against a wall, it’s not clear which are most effective. Even when researchers have demonstrated the success of certain strategies, they haven’t been widely adopted. (Gaffney, 11/2)

It would have been pretty difficult to get through 2021 without hearing the word "vax" at least once. If last year was marked by the emergence of COVID-19 on a global scale, this one has been all about the new solution to end the pandemic: the vaccines. That's why Oxford Languages, the creator of the Oxford English Dictionary, chose "vax" as its 2021 Word of the Year. "A relatively rare word in our corpus until this year, by September it was over 72 times more frequent than at the same time last year," Oxford said. (Hernandez, 11/1)