Vaccines 101
And our continued commitment to providing you with high-quality, accessible information
As COVID cases have once again begun rising in some parts of the country, we hope you and your family are staying safe. The good news is the basics of prevention haven’t changed: wear a mask in public, practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently. You can count on us to continue answering more of your questions and updating the site with more explainers, news-in-context pieces, and lifestyle questions as things continue to evolve.
With all of that in mind, here are some recent updates to the site:
should you or a loved one contract COVID (or even get sick in general), how should you treat the illness? see our explainer on when to seek care for more
catch that incredibly confusing WHO statement on asymptomatic spread? we break down the announcement and explain what it really meant (long story short: people with COVID but without symptoms can and do spread the virus; also, science communication is hard)
and finally: our explainer on racial disparities in COVID, a topic that has received renewed interest given recent calls for justice and reform
Explainer Highlight: Vaccines
This week, we felt it appropriate to highlight a piece that discusses a key part of ending the pandemic permanently. This explainer really gets into the science of how vaccines work, the different types of vaccines (and their relative strengths and weaknesses), and the current state of COVID vaccine development. We think it provides crucial context for understanding any updates you may hear about potential vaccines currently in progress and the timeline within which we can all (realistically) expect a working vaccine.
And as usual, if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, here’s our handy, shareable infographic:
Please feel free to share your thoughts, questions, and concerns — you can get a hold of us via email, Twitter, Instagram, and the site itself.