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Pfizer said its omicron booster triggers a stronger immune response against a number of emerging Covid subvariants circulating in the U.S. The booster triggered more antibodies against omicron sublineages BQ.1.1, BA.4.6, BA.2.75.2 and XBB.1 in adults older than 55 compared with a fourth dose of the original vaccines, according to new data released by the company on Friday. Antibodies are a key part of the immune system that block the virus from invading cells. (Kimball, 11/18)

Pfizer said Friday that its updated COVID-19 booster may offer some protection against newly emerging omicron mutants even though it’s not an exact match. (Neergaard, 11/18)

As Pfizer prepares to hike the price of its Covid-19 vaccines, the company’s CEO, Albert Bourla, maintained at a conference this week that the jabs will continue to be “free for all Americans” because insurers are required to pay the extra cost. (Feuerstein, 11/18)

As winter looms and Americans increasingly gather indoors without masks or social distancing, a medley of new coronavirus variants is seeding a rise in cases and hospitalizations in counties across the nation. The Biden administration’s plan for preventing a national surge depends heavily on persuading Americans to get updated booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Now some scientists are raising doubts about this strategy. (Mandavilli, 11/18)

The Biden administration has launched a last-ditch effort to restore the country’s edge. In a bid to resurrect Operation Warp Speed, President Biden asked the lame-duck session of Congress this week for $5 billion for next-generation vaccines and therapeutics, as part of a broader $9.25 billion pandemic spending request. But Republicans, having blocked requests for next-generation vaccine funding since the spring amid complaints about how the White House spent earlier pandemic aid allocations, have shown no signs of dropping their resistance. (Mueller, 11/18)

In the evolutionary chess match between the coronavirus and humans, scientists’ next move can’t come soon enough for the millions of Americans relying on treatments known as monoclonal antibodies. These lab-made therapies are rapidly losing their healing power, forcing researchers around the world to devise new antibodies that are both more potent and more resistant to new variants. (Johnson, 11/21)

Thanksgiving is approaching, and the pandemic picture is much different from the previous two holidays. Multiple vaccines, boosters and therapeutics are available, at-home testing is easily accessible, and most people have some form of immunity from vaccinations, prior infection or both. Most COVID restrictions have been lifted for many months now, including masking requirements. (Hwang, 11/19)

The world is fast approaching the third anniversary of those days when we got our first inkling that a new disease was spreading in China. In the months that followed, normal life was suspended, then upended. At this point, everyone is well and truly sick of Covid-19 and the accommodations we have had to make to co-exist with it. (Branswell, 11/21)

A study of National Football League (NFL) home games attended by 1.3 million fans suggests that those with high attendance were tied to subsequent county-level COVID-19 surges during the 2020-2021 season. (Van Beusekom, 11/18)

The state health department has expanded its "Say Yes! COVID Test" program to allow Wisconsinites to order five tests per month per household. (Shastri, 11/18)