Hi and welcome to COVID Quickly, a scientific American podcast series.

This is your fast track update on the COVID pandemic.

We bring you up to speed on the science behind the most urgent questions about the virus

and the disease.

We demystify the research and help you understand what it really means.

I'm Tanya Lewis.

I'm Josh Fishman.

And we're scientific Americans, senior health editors.

Today we'll talk about the plan for a second vaccine booster shot.

The prospects of a new COVID wave and whether people will put on masks to stop it.

And how to think about COVID risk when it comes to everyday activities.

This week, the FDA authorized a second booster shot on top of the ones given last year.

That would be four shots total for me, Tanya.

Why this new one?

It happened sooner than I expected, Josh.

Although the scientific community had been debating whether additional booster shots

were needed for some time, normally the FDA holds a meeting of its advisory committee

before deciding whether to authorize vaccines or boosters, but that didn't happen this

time.

The move makes boosters available to adults aged 50 and older and anyone 12 and older

who is immunocompromised four months after their first booster shot.

For people who had two shots and a booster, this would be their fourth shot.

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