Coronavirus Updates: Biden moves for more at-home testing

October 26, 2021

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Important developments in the pandemic.

By Marisa Iati

The Post's coronavirus coverage linked in this newsletter is free to access from this email.

The latest

Amid a shortage of at-home coronavirus tests, the Biden administration announced $70 million in funding Monday to help manufacturers more quickly get authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. The federal program will also identify rapid tests that could be produced and sold on a large scale.

Parents of children eager for trick-or-treating can breathe a sigh of relief: Top federal health officials appear united in their belief that the Halloween tradition is exceedingly safe. On "Fox News Sunday," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky encouraged kids to "put on those costumes, stay outside and enjoy your trick-or-treating." Her comments echo remarks from Anthony S. Fauci, the government's top infectious-disease expert, who said celebrating Halloween outdoors will be particularly safe for vaccinated children.

For now, most children younger than 12 remain unvaccinated by necessity. But that could soon change, as officials are poised to approve administering a lower dose of Pfizer-BioNTech's immunization to children ages 5 to 11 in the coming days. Fauci has expressed optimism that kids in that age group can start getting their shots as soon as early November. Moderna also announced Monday that its data shows a strong response of virus-fighting antibodies from the company's vaccine in children ages 6 to 11.

Pharmacies experienced a rush Friday as a throng of booster seekers, many of whom had gotten Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, sought additional shots hours after federal officials approved Johnson & Johnson and Moderna boosters. Many people said they were pleased that they could choose a booster different from their original brand. Some Johnson & Johnson recipients were keen to get a booster from Pfizer or Moderna, because studies have shown that the mRNA vaccines may be more protective in their initial dosages.

As many in the United States seek a third shot, some Americans abroad are still struggling to find a first vaccine dose. Fourteen of those people told The Post that they received little help from the Biden administration and that their months of pleading have prompted no change in policy. The White House has maintained that the U.S. government does not provide private health care to Americans living overseas.

Other important news

Arizona's seven-day average of covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people increased by 138 percent last week. Some health experts worry that the state could face an even greater crisis this winter.

Roughly a week after announcing he had a breakthrough covid-19 infection, Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Sunday begged viewers to forget politics and get vaccinated.

Here's how zookeepers are convincing animals to get their coronavirus vaccines. (Hint: M&M's are involved.)

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Your questions, answered

Which booster shot is likely to be more effective and long lasting, a full dose of Pfizer or a half dose of Moderna? — Bill in Oregon

Now that the CDC has said people can get a different company's vaccine booster from their original dose, your question is almost certainly common. The agency plans to release more information soon about who might benefit from one brand over another.

For now, we know that both Pfizer-BioNTech's full-dose booster and Moderna's half-dose booster significantly increase a person's virus-fighting antibodies. Pfizer announced Thursday that its booster was 95.6 percent effective at protecting vaccinated people, while Moderna found that its half-dose booster restored waning antibody levels.

Although it may sound counterintuitive, a half-dose booster is not necessarily inferior to a full dose.

That's because a primary vaccination series — two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson — teaches the immune system to recognize and defend against the coronavirus's spike protein. A booster activates immunological memory, meaning that immune cells essentially remember previously received vaccines. A lower dose is often effective for this purpose.

Studies have not yet been done to determine how long Pfizer's and Moderna's boosters offer protection and whether one is more effective than the other. But Lee Harrison, an epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, told The Post that he does not expect to see significant differences between the brands by either measure.

"I would feel extremely confident in the increased protection provided by a booster dose of either of the two mRNA vaccines," he wrote in an email.

If you're debating which one to get, we suggest keeping an eye out for the CDC's upcoming guidance and talking with your doctor about which booster might be best for you.