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Moderna's COVID-19 variant vaccine will be ready to ship in August as the company has been making shots ahead of approval, Chief Executive Stephane Bancel told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the only bottleneck to supply was a regulatory one. "Our goal is as early as August given we're going to file all the data in June, by the end of June... hopefully in the August timeframe, the vaccine is authorised," Bancel said in an interview. (6/22)

When the Omicron variant surge hit at the end of 2021, which came with breakthrough COVID-19 infections in vaccinated people, Israel was one of the first countries to offer fourth vaccine doses for those age 60 and older. Yesterday, Israeli researchers reported that a fourth dose was linked to significant protection against severe outcomes in hospitalized patients. (6/21)

"COVID-19 rebound," the relapse of symptoms that occurred in some patients treated with Paxlovid, may actually be caused by insufficient drug exposure, according to a recent study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had issued a health advisory warning individuals about "COVID-19 rebound" where symptoms of COVID infection returned in some patients after a course of treatment with the medication Paxlovid. Paxlovid is currently the leading oral medication used to prevent severe cases of COVID-19 in high-risk patients, according to the researchers. (McGorry, 6/21)

Women are significantly more likely than men to experience long COVID, with symptoms that follow a distinct clinical pattern, researchers reported today. They said more efforts are needed to explore sex differences in outcomes, including greater risks of exposure for some jobs. The researchers from the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Chief Medical Officer reported their findings yesterday in Current Medical Research and Opinion, a peer-reviewed journal. (Schnirring, 6/21)

Lucky. Thankful. Surprised. Nervous. Invincible. These are some of the words used to describe how it feels to be among the ever-dwindling minority of Americans who have yet to contract COVID-19 — at least not to their knowledge. More than two years into the pandemic, almost 60 percent of Americans — including 75 percent of children — have contracted the virus at least once. The shrinking segment of the populace who hasn’t say they feel a mixture of gratitude and fatalism over what seems inevitable: that sooner or later, the virus will come for them, too. (Caldera, 6/21)

Researchers around the country are investigating, and so far have found hints of possible trouble but no firm answers. “The jury is still totally out in terms of whether this virus affects the fetus,” said Dr. Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician and neuroscientist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. “And the jury is going to be out for the next several decades.” Developmental problems triggered in the womb typically don’t show up for years. Autism is usually diagnosed around age 2, attention deficit disorder at school age or later, and schizophrenia in adolescence or young adulthood. With COVID-19 so new, the research so far has brought only tentative findings about children age 1 or younger. (Freyer, 6/19)

In another sign that the world of entertainment is returning to pre-pandemic normal, Broadway theaters will no longer demand audiences wear masks starting in July. The Broadway League announced Tuesday that mask-wearing will be optional next month onward, a further loosening of restrictions. In May, most Broadway theaters lifted the requirement that audience members provide proof of vaccination to enter venues. (Kennedy, 6/21)

In announcing this week that she has tested positive for COVID-19, “Jeopardy!” host Mayim Bialik seemed to expect that past controversies over her statements about vaccines were likely to come up. “Hey everybody, not sure if this is clickbait or not but I have a COVID,” the former “Big Bang Theory” star, 46, said in a video posted to her Instagram account Monday. She emphasized that she has been vaccinated and received booster shots, with the caption for her video including the hashtags “#vaxxed,” “#boosted.” Bialik’s diagnosis comes two months after she again clarified her position in favor of vaccines in an interview with the Daily Beast. “I never said to not get vaccinated,” said Bialik, who also is a neuroscientist. “I absolutely believe vaccines work and have always said that.” (Ross, 6/21)