Mutations

First on CNN: Administration's new Covid-19 vaccine ads target 'high-risk' communities | CNN

New ads promoting the Covid-19 vaccines are making their debut this week, targeting specific communities that have had a slow uptake of the updated shots.

Black audiences are encouraged to get vaccinated in the “On Point” video, released by the US Department of Health and Human Services on Monday.

A Spanish-language ad titled “No te pierdas el juego” also started airing Monday, targeting Latino audiences. An English version of the ad, the title of which translates to “Don’t Miss the Game,” is scheduled for release next month during the FIFA World Cup.

Among Seniors, a Declining Interest in Boosters - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

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Although Americans over 65 remain the demographic most likely to have received the original series of vaccinations, at 92 percent, their interest in keeping their vaccinations up-to-date is steadily declining, data from the C.D.C. shows. To date, about 71 percent have received the first recommended booster, but only about 44 percent have received the second.

Younger people have also been less likely to receive boosters than the original vaccinations, and only about one-third of people of all ages have received any booster, The New York Times vaccine tracker indicates. But seniors, who constitute 16 percent of the population, are more vulnerable to the virus’s effects, accounting for three-quarters of the nation’s 1.1 million deaths.

“From the beginning, older people have felt the virus was more of a threat to their safety and health and have been among the earliest adopters of the vaccine and the first round of boosters,” said Mollyann Brodie, the executive director of public opinion at Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been tracking vaccination rates and attitudes.

Uganda applies well-honed lessons to new Ebola outbreak (nbcnews.com)

...the East African country — lauded for its coronavirus response, which was built around engaging the community and training health officials — is drawing lessons from the first Ebola outbreak in 2004.

ALSO SEE: Uganda reports worrisome increase in Ebola cases in capital

Omicron subvariants pose a new threat to people with immune deficiencies (nbcnews.com)

New versions of the omicron virus show resistance to the antibody drugs many need for extra protection against Covid.

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People with compromised immune systems face a new winter of discontent as the ever-mutating omicron virus threatens to outrun the preventive monoclonal antibody cocktail that hundreds of thousands of them have relied upon for extra protection against Covid.