Technologies

Moderna COVID booster: What to know about the new omicron variant, side effects, CDC rules

If you’re age 18 or older, you can now get a Moderna booster dose if it’s been at least six months since your second shot.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

Moderna said it’s taking a three-prong approach to prepare for the new omicron coronavirus variant and could have a COVID-19 vaccine tailored specifially for the new virus strain early in 2022, if needed.

The new COVID-19 variant israising alarm bells around the world with fears that the mutuated virus could lead to a new surge of infections.

If you’re 18 years of age and older in the US, you now qualify for a Moderna booster shot. That goes for those fully vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, too, because you can now mix and match vaccines from approved drug-makers. Authorization for the Moderna booster — along with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson booster shots and Pfizer vaccines for kids — comes at a time when the deadly and contagious delta variant has a lock on the US and as the new omicron mutation emerges in South Africa.

The COVID-19 vaccines have proved to be highly effective in preventing hospitalization, and those who are unvaccinated are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized if infected. With the federal vaccine mandates, the Biden administration aims to counter the surge and put pressure on anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated. Antiviral drugs could also help.

Here’s what you need to know about the Moderna booster, including its side effects. For more on COVID-19, here’s the latest on COVID-19 vaccines for kids, what to do if you lost your vaccination card, the difference between a booster and a third dose, and what to know about breakthrough infections.

What is Moderna’s strategy for its COVID vaccine and the new omicron variant?

Scientists worry the new variant, named omicron, could spread more quickly than the now-dominant delta variant because of the number of mutations the new strain has.

Moderna Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton told the BBC the drug-maker is researching the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine against the new variant discovered in South Africa late last week.

«Will we be able to neutralize it andcontrolitandcontainitwiththecurrentvaccines?» Burton asked about Moderna’s response to the variant. «We should know in a couple of weeksfromlaboratoryexperiments.»

Burton said Moderna has a three-part strategy to be ready for the mutated virus: Firstly, it’s testing a 100-microgram dose of its booster to see if it provides better protection against the omicron variant. The Moderna booster authorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a 50-microgram dose, half of what the CDC authorized for the first two shots of the Moderna vaccine. Secondly, it’s testing a COVID-19 vaccine that could protect against several mutated strains of the coronavirus. And thirdly, the company is working on an omicron-specific booster vaccine. Burton said if Moderna needs to make a new vaccine modified for the variant, it could be available early in2022.

All adults are now eligible for the Moderna booster dose

As of Nov. 19, all US adults — those age 18 and older — are eligible to get a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. They qualify if it’s been at least six months since they’ve received their second dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible for a booster dose after two months. Adults are encouraged to get whatever booster dose is available to them, even if that means mixing and matching vaccine boosters (more below), in other words, getting a different booster shot than their original vaccination.

What about side effects with the Moderna COVID booster shot?

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those who got the Moderna booster dose reported fewer reactions than they did after the second dose of the vaccine. In its study, the CDC found 95% of those who got Moderna for the first round of vaccine shots chose Moderna for the booster dose.

Yes, it’s safe to mix-and-match vaccine boosters

The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized mixing COVID-19 boosters, which in the US means Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. Anyone eligible for a booster can get any of the available brands of coronavirus vaccines. If you initially received Johnson & Johnson and it’s been two months or longer since you received the initial dose, you’ll be able to get the Moderna or Pfizer booster. If you received Moderna or Pfizer for your first two shots, you could pick any authorized vaccine — including J&J — if you qualify and it’s been six months or longer since your second shot.

What does the Moderna booster shot do?

A COVID-19 booster shot — whether from Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson — tops off your immune response and guards against a breakthrough COVID-19 infection as the vaccine’s effectiveness decreases over time.

Recent studies of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines show that their effectiveness can begin to wane after six months. Moderna said early data suggests that those who received the Moderna vaccine in 2020 are showing a higher rate of breakthrough COVID infections than those vaccinated this year, suggesting the need for a booster to maintain high levels of protection.

Is the Moderna vaccine booster the same as the original 2 COVID-19 doses?

Yes, almost. As with Pfizer’s booster, the third Moderna shot will be the same vaccine as the first two doses, except it’ll be a half dose. To make your life simpler, Moderna is also working on a combination shot that includes this year’s flu vaccine and its COVID-19 booster vaccine, but that’s not available right now.

Where can I get the Moderna booster shot?

According to the White House, boosters will be available at roughly 80,000 places across the country, including over 40,000 local pharmacies. Some 90% of Americans have a vaccine site within 5 miles of where they live. You can check Vaccines.gov to see which vaccines are available where, or call 800-232-0233 for vaccine information.

Is the Moderna COVID-19 booster shot free, or do I have to pay?

All booster shots will be free, regardless of immigration or health insurance status. However, depending on where you get your booster shot — for example, at a local pharmacy — you may be asked to log your insurance status. You may be asked to provide your insurance card information, including your name, date of birth and membership number. You will not be charged for your COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot.

Will I need a fourth COVID booster shot?

The CDC updated its guidance to say that next year, some immunocompromised people will be able to get a fourth COVID-19 booster shot. It’s unclear if other groups will need to get a fourth dose at this time.

For more on coronavirus treatments and vaccines, here’s what we know about monoclonal antibody treatments, the new federal vaccine mandates and why some people may not want the shot.

CNET’s Jessica Rendall contributed to this article.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Anthropic Launched New Claude 4 Gen AI Models. Here’s What They Do

The models can now use tools like web searches during extended reasoning tasks.

The latest versions of Anthropic’s Claude generative AI models made their debut Thursday, including a heavier-duty model built specifically for coding and complex tasks.

Anthropic launched the new Claude 4 Opus and Claude 4 Sonnet models during its Code with Claude developer conference, and executives said the new tools mark a significant step forward in terms of reasoning and deep thinking skills.

The company launched the prior model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet, in February. Since then, competing AI developers have also upped their game. OpenAI released GPT-4.1 in April, with an emphasis on an expanded context window, along with the new o3 reasoning model family. Google followed in early May with an updated version of Gemini 2.5 Pro that it said is better at coding.

Claude 4 Opus is a larger, more resource-intensive model built to handle particularly difficult challenges. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said test users have seen it quickly handle tasks that might have taken a person several hours to complete.

«In many ways, as we’re often finding with large models, the benchmarks don’t fully do justice to it,» he said during the keynote event.

Claude 4 Sonnet is a leaner model, with improvements built on Anthropic’s Claude 3.7 Sonnet model. The 3.7 model often had problems with overeagerness and sometimes did more than the person asked it to do, Amodei said. While it’s a less resource-intensive model, it still performs well, he said.

«It actually does just as well as Opus on some of the coding benchmarks, but I think it’s leaner and more narrowly focused,» Amodei said.

Anthropic said the models have a new capability, still being beta tested, in which they can use tools like web searches while engaged in extended reasoning. The models can alternate between reasoning and using tools to get better responses to complex queries.

The models both offer near-instant response modes and extended thinking modes.

All of the paid plans offer both Opus and Sonnet models, while the free plan just has the Sonnet model.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for May 23, #446

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 446 for May 23.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a humorous title, and if you understand the reference, you’ll know what words to look for. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: The musical fruit

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: There are magical ones in fairy tales.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

REEK, GADS, PLAY, PLAYS, PITA, DIAL, FALL, PALL, PALLS, FALLS, GENIE, BEEN, LACK, DENY, NILL.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

FAVA, NAVY, BLACK, GREEN, PINTO, KIDNEY, CANNELLINI

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is BEANSALAD. To find it, start with the B that’s three letters to the right on the top row, and wind down.

Technologies

The Marvel Rivals Auto Battler Is a Natural Evolution of Hero Shooters

Move over Teamfight Tactics. Marvel Rivals’ new limited-time mode is the perfect addition to the auto battler genre.

Marvel Rivals has been a breath of fresh air for the hero shooter genre, combining popular comic book characters and chaotic third-person shooter action to create epic team fights that keep me coming back for more.

Fast-paced combat is the name of the game in Marvel Rivals, which is why it could come across as a confusing development that the next limited-time mode launching in Marvel Rivals Season 2.5 is a form of auto battler (also frequently referred to as auto chess).

Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol is an experimental mode launching on June 6, where six players will draft teams of heroes to go head to head with their opponents’ drafts. You’ll be able to support your AI teams while the new hero Ultron (also debuting in season 2.5) is chipping in extra healing and damage to the fight.

Aside from the fact that it’ll be cool to stage your own version of Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars, is the decision to add an auto battler to Marvel Rivals (which has previously released limited-time modes that mostly tracked with the shooter’s core gameplay loop) really all that far out of left field? I don’t think so.

Why is Marvel Rivals getting an auto battler mode?

The new mode is similar to multiplayer online battle arena spinoffs such as Dota Auto Chess and League of Legends’ Teamfight Tactics. I think drawing the line from a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) to auto battler is easy for most people.

MOBAs are strategy games first and foremost, where players pick and choose items to craft builds that will help them win their lane, while also contributing to big team fights. Players need to work together to overwhelm the other team and push them back to their spawn.

MOBAs and auto battlers are both about team synergy, positioning and picking the right upgrades, so it’s not surprising to people when characters from a game in one of these genres appear in another.

There are many people that wouldn’t associate hero shooters with MOBAs in the slightest. Games like Marvel Rivals have a high ceiling for very different mechanical skills — especially aiming. But hero shooters are also complex strategy games that share many of the same fundamentals as a MOBA.

Putting together a viable team composition with strong character is the most important part of a hero shooter — and Marvel Rivals takes this to another level with the strongest team-up abilities that require multiple heroes to activate.

An auto battler will allow people to experiment team compositions that don’t often get played in real Marvel Rivals’ matches, and could even help the community find new experimental hero combinations that have the potential to shake up common ways people play the game.

In Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol, as the auto battler mode is called, players will be able to put together balanced teams, lock in the risky GATOR strategy (which is nightmarishly similar to Overwatch’s GOATS meta) or fall back on triple support with brand new upgrades that change how the game works.

Absurd power scaling might look like Overwatch 2’s Stadium mode

There’s a clear rivalry between Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals, since they’re the two biggest hero shooters on the market right now. Blizzard’s hero shooter is entering its ninth year of life with flagging interest, but its solid fundamentals have been a high bar for Marvel Rivals to hurdle.

Both games have been trying out bold new things — Overwatch 2 recently shipped the MOBA-like Stadium mode that lets players augment popular abilities and take powerful passives as they fight in a flurry of different objectives in a best of seven gauntlet.

Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol in some ways feels like NetEase’s response to Blizzard’s big success with Stadium mode. You might not have quite as much influence on the outcome of each battle, but this serves as a proof of concept for Marvel Rivals’ hero power scaling.

This new mode also lets players pick passive abilities that buff certain roles as well as more powerful hero-specific upgrades that drastically alter the course of a fight, so the snowballing power of a Stadium match is very much emulated here.

In the Season 2.5 developer vision video, we got a look at what some of the upgrades will look like.

Venom can grow into a hulking monster after devouring enemies with his ultimate ability, Hela cuts a swath through the playing field with a field of flying daggers, Psylocke zips around her ultimate ability’s area of effect at twice her normal speed and Namor summons many more squid turrets to attack his enemies.

It’s safe to assume that every character in the game will have some kind of special power unlocked in the later rounds of an Ultron’s Battle Matrix Protocol match. This definitely isn’t NetEase reheating Blizzard’s nachos, but I do think it’s indicative of a broader shift toward making hero shooters feel a little bit more chaotic and unrestrained.

Game balance is important, but one of the biggest draws of this genre is that each character is a unique power fantasy you can’t find elsewhere. I can’t imagine such in-depth upgrades were designed for a one-and-done mode, so it’ll be interesting to see where they might show up next.