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The Biden administration’s push to roll out coronavirus vaccine booster shots this month has largely been shaped by unpublished data from Israel’s vaccination campaign, according to two individuals familiar with the matter. The Israel data, which is set to be made public as soon as this week, shows that the Pfizer vaccine’s ability to prevent severe disease and hospitalization is waning over time — as is the shot’s protection against mild and moderate disease, the two sources said. The country began administering boosters to people over 60 in July and has now expanded it to people over 30, but it has released relatively little information so far about the effect of the booster campaign. (Banco, 9/14)

Recent data suggests that Moderna's coronavirus vaccine may maintain a higher effectiveness over time than Pfizer's. The effectiveness gap could always disappear with more data, and both vaccines remain very effective against severe disease. But if the gap does hold up, it raises questions about whether the two vaccines should be treated the same way policy-wise. (Owens, 9/15)

A group of gorillas at Zoo Atlanta are in line to be vaccinated after they tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a public statement from zoo officials released Sunday. The western lowland gorillas were seen coughing with running noses and a decreased appetite, prompting the initial testing. Nasal, oral and fecal samples were tested before the zoo received the initial results that the gorillas had been infected by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The delta variant was identified in at least one of the gorillas upon further testing. Twenty gorillas live in the zoo in four different groups. All are being tested – 18  are showing symptoms – and results are expected this week. Several of the gorillas are being treated with monoclonal antibodies, but the next step will be a vaccination specifically developed for animals, according to the zoo. (Gleeson, 9/13)

The big cats at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore will be among the first in line. They’ll saunter over to the edge of their enclosure, likely lured by a piece of ground meat, and present their hip to a waiting zookeeper, who will inject them with a specially made COVID-19 vaccine. (Condon, 9/14)

According to the CDC a very small number of cats and dogs have been infected with COVID-19 worldwide and the risk of spreading the virus from animals to people is low. However; people can spread the virus to animals. “At this time the US Department of Agriculture and the CDC and other global regulatory bodies have determined that there’s not a need for a vaccine, a COVID vaccine for cats and dogs,” said Christina Lood, Sr. Director, Sustainability & Innovation Communications for Zoetis. Zoetis, the animal pharmaceutical company that donated COVID vaccines for use in zoo animals says, they started working on a vaccine for cats and dogs, as soon as the virus was detected in a dog in Hong, Kong in February 20-20. And when and if the time comes they are prepared to vaccines to cats and dogs. (Morton, 9/1)

One in five Oregon adults say they are not planning to get vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a new survey of Oregonians by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center. This population tends to be under the age of 55, socially and ideologically conservative, with no college degree and living in rural or rural-to-suburban parts of the state. (Skores, 9/14)

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe released a proposal on Tuesday to increase coronavirus vaccination rates in the commonwealth, dubbed "Virginia is for Vaccine Lovers." The campaign, which is a play on Virginia's travel and tourism slogan, marks the former governor's twentieth policy proposal of the campaign. (Manchester, 9/14)

You’ve probably heard a lot about booster shots in recent weeks. But nobody can agree on when you’ll actually need to get one. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee will meet to discuss booster shots, additional doses of the Covid vaccines designed to provide continued protection against the virus. The committee is expected to review data from Pfizer’s application for a third-dose booster and decide who needs boosters, at what dosage and when. (Stieg, 9/14)