In Other News: EXPLAINER: Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no.; World’s second-tallest roller coaster is permanently closing

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Is COVID-19 winding down? Scientists say no.

New booster shots have arrived and social distancing guidelines have eased but COVID-19 infections aren’t going away anytime soon. Experts predict the scourge that’s already lasted longer than the 1918 flu pandemic will linger far into the future. Vaccines and protections are making the virus easier to live with — for now. But it is still killing more than 400 Americans every day, and it may well keep evolving in worrisome ways, such as becoming better able to get around immunity from vaccination and past infection. It’s possible it could also evolve to cause more serious disease.

India and China clear needle-free COVID-19 vaccinesIndia and China have cleared a new approach in COVID-19 vaccination — two needle-free options, one a squirt in the nose and the other inhaled through the mouth. Regulators in India authorized Bharat Biotech’s nasal version on Tuesday as an option for people who haven’t yet been vaccinated. “This step will further strengthen our collective fight against the pandemic,” Indian health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Twitter. It’s not clear how well the nasal version works. Bharat didn’t immediately release results of its studies or say how soon the new option will roll out. CanSino Biologics announced Sunday that Chinese regulators have approved an inhaled version of the company’s injected COVID-19 vaccine to be used as a booster dose. The company pointed to preliminary results of studies suggesting the inhaled version revved up immune protection after one puff. It’s not clear if that translated to improved effectiveness, or how soon the inhaled booster will be available. COVID-19 vaccines today are shots, and they’ve saved millions of lives and continue to offer strong protection against severe illness and death, even as more contagious variants of the coronavirus circulate.

World’s second-tallest roller coaster is permanently closingAn amusement park in Ohio is permanently closing the world’s second-tallest roller coaster. The decision announced Tuesday by Cedar Point comes a year after a small metal object flew off the 420-foot tall Top Thrill Dragster coaster and struck a woman in the head at the park in Sandusky. A state investigation found no evidence that the park acted illegally or had reason to believe the ride was unsafe. The ride has remained closed since the Aug. 15, 2021 accident. Park officials did not say if the accident influenced their decision to permanently close the coaster, which has operated for 19 years and drawn 18 million riders.