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We have boosters and Paxlovid, but we also have holidays and variants. So where are we on COVID?

DeMarcus Hicks, a recent graduate of nursing school, gives a person a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. (Ted S. Warren/AP)
DeMarcus Hicks, a recent graduate of nursing school, gives a person a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot. (Ted S. Warren/AP)

The Biden administration is launching a six-week campaign to get Americans vaccinated with the latest booster dose. 35 million Americans have already taken that shot. But that’s far from the B.Q.1 numbers needed to prevent a spread this winter, according to many infectious disease physicians. The B.Q.1 variant is thought to be better at evading vaccines and easier to spread. Holiday celebrations are expected to include more, and larger, in-person gatherings than they have for the last three years. So where are we on COVID vaccines, treatments and forecasts for the winter?

Here & Now‘s Robin Young discusses it all with Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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