(I focus on Novavax for reasons previously discussed on this blog, searchable via its tag.)
June 14, 2024 - Novavax Submits Application to U.S. FDA for Updated Protein-based 2024-2025 Formula COVID-19 Vaccine
Novavax's JN.1 vaccine has demonstrated broad cross-neutralizing antibodies against multiple variant strains, including KP.2 and KP.3, indicating the potential to protect against forward drift variants.
June 27, 2024 - U.S. CDC & ACIP Recommend Use of Authorized and Approved 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccines
Today the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously in favor of a universal recommendation for the use of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines ...
Novavax intends to provide doses of our 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine at the start of the vaccination season and upon EUA by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Aug. 14, 2024 - COVID is surging again. Here’s the latest on new variants, updated vaccines, and masking
Novavax, an American biotechnology company, had already developed a JN.1-targeted vaccine and the company said it wouldn’t have time to change the formulation before the fall. Novavax’s vaccine is the only protein-based COVID-19 vaccine
[I disagree with Mark Sawyer, MD's quote in the article that “It’s important to have Novavax as an option because some people are still concerned about mRNA”. I in particular have no issue with "mRNA tech", have taken it, and am familiar with it due to having worked on some of the earliest science-journalistic reporting about it. Many choose Novavax for other reasons, again, discussed previously / elswhere, and will continue to as long as it confers equal or better protection vs mRNA options.]
Is it time to wear a mask again?
... Sawyer also recommends masking while traveling or in high-risk situations.“
If you’re in a community where the virus is surging, as so many people are, it is smart to wear a mask if you’re in indoor, crowded conditions,” he says.
[*For some of us it isn't "again"; we didn't stop in any situation where it was "smart" to.]
Despite COVID not being a seasonal illness, new vaccines are still being offered on a seasonal schedule. Updated boosters are again expected in September.