A date for the Covid-19 vaccine booster shot has been revealed

This week, the U.S. government announced what it had been hinting out for a few days now: It would begin offering the public free Covid-19 booster shot vaccines for people who have got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. (Johnson & Johnson is also likely to join in the coming weeks). It all starts the week of September 20, 2021.

It’s major news in what’s been nearly a year of vaccine news for Covid-19. Critically, getting a booster shot will slow the diversification of Covid-19 into additional variants of the disease, says the CDC.

For everything else you need to know, plus additional essential science and technology news, keep scrolling.

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Covid-19 booster shot: Schedule, side-effects, concerns, and effectiveness — Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 booster shots, first discussed in January 2021 when variants arose, are now set to be released to the U.S. public on September 20, 2021. Here's everything you need to know:

The era of Covid-19 vaccine booster shots has begun in earnest.

On Wednesday, August 18, 2021, the Biden Administration followed up a few days of hinting by announcing a plan — in very broad strokes — for Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for people 18 and older who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The Covid-19 vaccine booster shots will be available starting the week of September 20, 2021.

“We conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability,” reads a CDC statement released Wednesday, August 18 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services leadership.

There are several big questions about the Covid-19 booster shot...

Read the full story.

The more you know:

• How worried should you be about Lambda? 7 critical facts about the variant
• 5 visuals that show why masks stop Covid-19
• The hard truth about Covid-19 and erectile disfunction

The value of male friendship — There's strength in numbers. In the wild, the bonds males share can spell the difference between life and death. Or maybe just reproductive success. Jenn Walter has the story in a dynamic, highly visual card story:

In the wild, sometimes it pays to stick together. In many animals, males tend to be aggressive and territorial toward members of the same sex. But there are times when forming friendships provides an evolutionary benefit that going at it alone doesn’t. Here are 6 animal bromances that show the value of friendship:

Read the full story.

Knowledge is power:

• Male infertility: 3 insights men say they wish knew before their diagnosis
• Why male anger needs to be treated as a mental health issue
• Scientists find an odd link between aspirin, air pollution, and male brains

Six actions for a healthier life — Jenn Walter writes how gut health is brain health and vice versa. She provides some science-supported tips and tricks for keeping your microbiome diverse and healthy -- and how it can help you live a better life:

Your gut is basically your body’s second brain. That’s thanks to the living group of organisms housed there, called the microbiome. And strangely (or not so strangely), that ecosystem seems to be linked with mental performance and wellness as a whole — a mysterious gut-brain connection that scientists are still trying to understand.

Improving your gut health may help boost other physical and mental aspects of your wellbeing. But where’s the best place to start?

Read the full story.

More on a surprisingly important body part:

• Gut health: 7 hidden benefits of restoring your microbiota
• Neanderthal gut microbiome debunks 1 big myth about paleo diets
• 3 surprising health effects influenced by the quality of your gut

Blue Origin vs. SpaceX: The latest in a bitter feud — Mike Brown reports that following an unsuccessful GAO protest and meme campaigns, Jeff Bezos's space company is suing NASA over a lunar lander contract for the Human Landing System:

In the latest salvo in an ongoing billionaire saga, Jeff Bezos’s space company Blue Origin filed a lawsuit against NASA after the space agency awarded a contract for a lunar lander vehicle to Blue Origin rival SpaceX.

The lawsuit filed on Friday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleges “unlawful and improper evaluation” on the part of NASA in the selection of SpaceX to provide the Human Landing System (HLS) vehicle for the space agency’s Artemis Moon program.

A NASA spokesperson tells Inverse that the space agency is aware of the suit.

“As soon as possible, the agency will provide an update on the way forward for returning to the Moon as quickly and as safely as possible under Artemis,” according to the spokesperson.

Read the full story.

Previously on... “Jeff and Elon”:

• Blue Origin’s petty drama with SpaceX exposes its own greatest flaw, experts say (August 5)
• SpaceX vs. Blue Origin: NASA made a huge intervention in the race (August 4)
• When will Elon Musk go to space? SpaceX timeline reveals vital difference to Blue Origin (July 26)

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