Roughly two-thirds of the US population has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the CDC. 8.9 million have received a Pfizer or Moderna booster since August 13, and millions of little kids may soon be eligible for a first shot. It’s...a lot to follow, so we figured now’s a good time for a State of the Vax.

How about a boost?

After 23 days as the lone federally approved booster shot, Pfizer could soon get company.

An FDA panel on Thursday recommended a 50 microgram dose of the Moderna vaccine for use as a booster (half the amount of a typical dose). The Moderna booster would be available to the same eligibility groups as the Pfizer shot:

• Seniors aged 65+, nursing home residents, and adults aged 50 and up with underlying medical conditions.
• Adults aged 18–49 with health risks, and those aged 18–64 with a job/living situation that puts them more at risk of getting Covid.

The same panel will meet today to decide whether to recommend J&J’s booster shot. It’s not a home run, but experts still anticipate authorization given the single dose’s lower effectiveness.

Next, the FDA will rule on whether to authorize the boosters. The decision will then move to the CDC and, ultimately, state health departments.

And the kids?

As it stands, Pfizer’s vaccine is the only one approved for Americans younger than 18 (and as young as 12).

That said, US children aged 5–11 could become eligible for the world’s most preferred vaccine within weeks. The FDA will consider Pfizer’s request to approve its shot for emergency use in younger children on October 26 (with a ruling expected as early as Halloween). The shot would likely be one-third of the dose given to ages 12 and up.

Moderna is still waiting on FDA approval for use of its shot in adolescents aged 12–17.

And finally, a Covid update: Looking a lot better. Infections in the US have fallen 22% from two weeks ago to a 7-day average of 88,612. In early September, average cases peaked at around 160,000.—MK

There's one less place in China to give kudos to your coworker on their 1-year anniversary. LinkedIn said it was shutting down its professional networking platform in China, citing “a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements.”

Why it matters: Microsoft-owned LinkedIn was one of the few US internet companies to still have a presence in China, where the government watches internet users like Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and purges content it doesn’t like. China blocked Twitter and Facebook in 2009, and Google left a year after—but LinkedIn took a different path, launching a local version in 2014 that abided by China’s censorship rules.

That...hasn’t worked out great. The Chinese government has put pressure on LinkedIn to follow its censorship guidelines more closely, while US lawmakers have ripped the platform for following the guidelines at all.

Still, China is not a major market for Microsoft, accounting for just 1.8% of global revenue, according to President Brad Smith.

Looking ahead...LinkedIn won’t abandon China entirely. Later this year it’s going to launch a new job board app, InJobs.—NF

Domino's same-store sales fell 1.9% annually in Q3—the first time they’ve dropped since 2011.

The hand-tossed king did gangbusters last year as diners stayed home and ordered in, but this summer was a different story. The pizza chain blamed three factors for flattening its dough in Q3: 1) a shortage of workers 2) stimmies to consumers drying up and 3) more open restaurant dining rooms.

• To partially fix the first problem, Domino’s CEO Richard Allison will ask drivers to fulfill more orders on the same route. "I don't see why drivers should ever have to get out of their cars," he said.

More headwinds for Domino’s: Some Covid trends are reverting to pre-lockdown norms. While the fall is typically most pizza chains’ strongest time of the year (it’s the official meal of NFL Sundays), about 30% of US diners said in September they’d be ordering delivery less going forward, according to research firm Revenue Management Solutions.

Zoom out: Allison said Domino’s will face these challenges from a “position of strength” and, given the stock’s slight uptick on the day, investors agree.—MM

Stat: It’ll be a winter of discontent...and skyrocketing gas bills. The US households that use natural gas to heat their homes should expect to pay an average of 30% more on their bills compared to last year, per the Energy Information Administration. Even if the winter is 10% warmer than average, bills will be 22% higher.

Quote: “All the aliens that I’ve ever met, they have no feelings.”

Speaking to TMZ, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson responded to singer Demi Lovato's comments that calling extraterrestrial life forms "aliens" is derogatory. He also noted that Demi was coming from the right place.

Read: A slightly wonky but informative thread on the Covid endgame. (Trevor Bedford)

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to taking off your ski boots after a long day on the slopes.

It’s that satisfying. Ace the quiz.

The topsy turvy workplace: The pandemic completely changed the HR game, from remote work to the historic labor shortage. Check out HR Brew’s big launch event next week for expert advice on how to navigate a workplace that’s changed forever.

Follow Friday: Jamie Costa does a pitch-perfect Robin Williams impression, and Kira Wennerstrom eats canned foods dated 1904 she found in the cellar of her apartment.

What to watch: Dopeskick on Hulu tells the story of America’s opioid crisis from a variety of perspectives.

This one’s fun, because it requires two rounds of rearranging letters. First, unscramble the following five jumbles to create five actual words. Then, use the clues provided to extract certain letters; take that jumble and rearrange to form the name of a country.

1. KERWC. Take the 1st and 2nd letter.
2. LZEA. Take the 1st, 2nd, and the 4th letter.
3. KURNT. Take the 1st and the 4th letter.
4. IASB. Take the 2nd and 3rd letter.
5. SUKD. Take the 1st and 3rd letter.

1. Wreck 2. Zeal 3. Trunk 4. Bias 5. Dusk

When you extract the letters provided in the clues you get WRZELTNAIDS which can be unscrambled to form Switzerland.

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