Your fall coronavirus booster questions, answered
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 September 2022
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today’s show, what you need to know about the updated booster shots and why they matter amid growing pandemic fatigue. Plus, new research on the science of sitting and the pitfalls of being an “active couch potato.”
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The new coronavirus vaccine boosters are now widely available in the United States, but the updated shots are rolling out amid widespread pandemic fatigue.
Federal health officials say that these updated vaccines could help buffer communities against future surges of the virus. Earlier this month, officials announced plans of turning coronavirus shots into an annual dose, similar to the flu shot.
Today on Post Reports, health reporter Lena H. Sun, who’s followed the coronavirus pandemic from the beginning, answers some of the most pressing questions about the omicron-targeted boosters.
Plus, The Washington Post’s newest wellness columnist, Gretchen Reynolds, on why exercising the recommended 30 minutes a day might not be enough if you are an “active couch potato.”
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I have been covering COVID since the beginning of the pandemic and just like every American, |
| 0:07.6 | I am really tired of it. |
| 0:09.6 | Those very, very true words came from health reporter Lena Sun. |
| 0:13.8 | She spoke to my colleague, Alayh Azadi, about the new COVID boosters. |
| 0:17.5 | And she says that people just don't seem interested in getting yet another shot. |
| 0:24.9 | People really want to move on and they don't want to hear about things that they would |
| 0:29.3 | still have to do, even if they're really simple things like if you continue to wear a mask |
| 0:35.1 | indoors, you protect yourself and you protect your loved ones. |
| 0:39.3 | The other thing you can do is you can improve your indoor ventilation. |
| 0:42.9 | If I have a dinner party, I could maybe invite you because you've been previously infected |
| 0:48.0 | and boosted and some other people who are safe open the windows and turn on the kitchen |
| 0:54.1 | exhaust. |
| 0:56.1 | And now that it's fall, I will probably be pretty comfortable doing that. |
| 1:00.2 | All right, I'm looking forward to the dinner, and meditation, Lena. |
| 1:04.9 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:08.5 | I'm Martin Powers. |
| 1:09.9 | It's Wednesday, September 14. |
| 1:12.7 | Today, what you need to know about the latest Omacron targeted booster shot that's being |
| 1:17.4 | recommended by the CDC. |
| 1:19.5 | Plus, later in the show, a conversation with wellness reporter Gretchen Reynolds about |
| 1:24.6 | the science of sitting. |
| 1:26.9 | Basically, your sitting can overwhelm the physiological benefits of exercise. |
... |
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