Immunity Could Last Longer Than You'd Think

Menstrual exile; vibrant Mexican COVID masks [View this email online]( [NPR]( Goats and Soda editor's note Marc Silver/NPR I have been working on a mosaic for the past few weeks in a Zoom class taught by Gila Ruskin, the wonderful rabbi who married my wife and me and who is now an accomplished mosaicist. Both my wife and I felt we didn't have time for this project. But our friend Gila persisted, as if she knew that we needed a few sessions of art therapy in this year of so much bad news. She was right. The act of gluing small gleaming tiles -- made from recycled car windshields -- is more than following a pattern. It's taking many tiny bits of different colors and molding them into a beautiful, vibrant whole. We didn't finish our project on time -- we really did have too much going on. But we are looking forward to more gluing of tiles, to grouting, to enjoying a handmade mosaic board for the traditional challah bread on Shabbat (that's the Hebrew word depicted in my partially completed board, above). Making this board gave me hope that maybe the broken bits of our world can be united -- and coincidentally, so did a story we published as we were mosaicking. The headline says it all: "Immunity To COVID-19 Could Last Longer Than You'd Think." The thesis is that mRNA vaccines teach your body's cells to fight off coronavirus pathogens for years to come. [Read the story here.]( And if you have a few spare moments, may I recommend a healing session with a bottle of glue and an assortment of mosaic tiles. Marc Silver Editor, Goats and Soda --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- most popular story Malaka Gharib/NPR [Immunity To COVID-19 Could Last Longer Than You'd Think]( New studies look at how the mRNA vaccines affect the cells in your body in the short run and the long run. The findings are a counterpoint to concerns about waning immunity. in the news Amol Thaware [A Controversial Solution To Menstrual Exile: Building Better Menstrual Huts]( There's long been opposition to the practice of forcing a woman on her period to menstrual exile in a hut, which can be unsafe and unsanitary. One charity has a new interim response: upgrade the huts. [The Troubled History Of Vaccines And Conflict Zones]( History has shown that it's possible to pause war and conflict to distribute lifesaving vaccines for diseases such as Guinea worm and smallpox. Can the world do the same for the COVID-19 vaccine? This story originally appeared in Undark, a non-profit, editorially independent digital magazine exploring the intersection of science and society. photos Toya Sarno Jordan for NPR [Mexican Artists Create Fantastical Masks To Show The Many Faces Of COVID]( They portray the virus as a tiger, a demon ... a blue-eyed man. The images are drawn from their cultural traditions. coronavirus faq [How Do The Rules of 6 Feet And 15 Minutes Apply To The Delta Variant?]( It was drummed into our brains: Stay 6 feet from others! Limit close contact to 15 minutes. With the highly contagious delta variant, do we need to rethink those numbers? links we like - The Guardian reports on the brutal tradition of [kidnapping girls for marriage in Kyrgyzstan.]( - The secret of [Costa Rica’s successful health-care]( system in The New Yorker. - You may soon be able to [learn Zulu and Xhosa, two of South Africa’s most popular languages]( on Duolingo, Quartz reports. - The Washington Post shares [powerful images of the pandemic]( through the eyes of Magnum photographers. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [goatsandsoda@npr.org](mailto:goatsandsoda@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Health, Daily News, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Goats and Soda emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]