If you’ve had COVID-19, it’s reasonable to wonder if you really need to get the new Omicron booster. After all, research suggests that infections boost our immunity, and in some cases provide protection against a range of viral strains. But as my colleague Alice Park (who knows more about vaccines than just about anyone I know) reports, there are several reasons why getting the Omicron booster is the safest, smartest thing you can do right now:
Infections are variable. It’s hard to know how much exposure your body had to the virus, which is tied to your immune response. Especially with Omicron, many people only experience mild or no symptoms—and may not have developed a strong level of virus-fighting antibodies.
Natural immunity may not last long. Research suggests immunity following COVID-19 infection wanes after a few months.
Vaccine immunity may be stronger. In addition to antibodies, vaccines produce helpful immune cells known as T cells. A study from 2021 showed that people who have gotten sick from COVID-19 and are unvaccinated are more likely to get reinfected than people who got vaccinated after getting sick.
It’s also important to remember that getting a COVID-19 vaccine is relatively safe, especially compared to a COVID-19 infection—or reinfection and its possible long term effects. Even if you’ve been ill before, reinfection puts you at risk of severe disease as well as Long COVID, which can lead to chronic symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive fog. Experts recommend waiting at least three months after your symptoms began, or you tested positive for COVID-19, to get another shot.
More than 613 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 am. E.T. today, and more than 6.5 million people have died. On Sept. 21, there were 509,009 new cases and 1,872 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 10 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded nearly 95.9 million coronavirus cases as of 1 am. E.T. today. Nearly 1.06 million people have died. On Sept. 21, there were 98,282 new cases reported in the U.S., and 929 deaths were confirmed.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Sept. 22. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
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WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
A study published in JAMA Network Open today found that the original vaccine series’ effectiveness against Omicrons drops to 1% six months after getting the second dose. Booster doses, however, bring its effectiveness back up to 61%. “The bottom line message is that against Omicron, you really need three doses for optimal protection against severe outcomes,” says Dr. Jeff Kwong, the study’s senior author and a scientist at ICES.
The U.S. saw a surge in sexually transmitted diseases in 2021, according to preliminary U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data released Sept. 20. The CDC has attributed the increase to the COVID-19 pandemic, which diverted resources and disrupted preventive services like testing. In 2021, HIV cases rose by 16%, while gonorrhea increased by 2.8% and chlamydia by 3%. The largest increase was in syphilis cases, which jumped 26%, while congenital syphilis—a preventable disease that infects fetuses and causes miscarriage, stillbirth, and disabilites—rose by 24%.
Virus hunters have discovered a new coronavirus in bats that could evade COVID-19 vaccines, according to research published in PLoS Pathogens today. After finding the virus in Russia, researchers tested it in a lab, where they found the virus can infect human cells and that COVID-19 vaccine antibodies don’t neutralize it. The virus does not appear to have genes that cause serious disease in humans, but it could become problematic if it mixes genes with SARS-CoV-2. It’s also a warning that more viruses could jump from animals to humans.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Angela Haupt.
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