Understanding vaccine side effects + preserving beach access | Top 5

+ WHO recommends indoor masking for the fully vaccinated US Edition - Today's top story: New COVID-19 vaccine warnings don't mean it's unsafe – they mean the system to report side effects is working [View in browser]( US Edition | 25 July 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair Welcome to Sunday! The top five articles on our site over the past week are displayed below. Editor’s pick: Over the past week, western wildfires have spread smoke and haze over the entire United States, triggering unhealthy air alerts as far away as Philadelphia. In an article we published earlier this month, environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose of Boise State University explains how wildfire smoke differs from other forms of pollution – and [why under certain conditions, it can be more dangerous to human health](. Emily Costello Managing Editor Put into context, the benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks of rare adverse events. PenWin/iStock via Getty Images Plus [New COVID-19 vaccine warnings don’t mean it’s unsafe – they mean the system to report side effects is working]( Justin Vesser, University of Virginia Ongoing tracking is meant to spot very rare risks – like the connection between the Johnson & Johnson shot and Guillain-Barré syndrome. And it relies on public reporting. Part of a portable nuclear power plant arrives at Camp Century in 1960. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images [The US Army tried portable nuclear power at remote bases 60 years ago – it didn’t go well]( Paul Bierman, University of Vermont Nearly 60 years after a radiation-leaking reactor was removed from a US Army base on the Greenland ice sheet, the military is exploring portable nuclear reactors again. - [Are there any planets outside of our solar system?]( Jean-Luc Margot, University of California, Los Angeles Billions of galaxies are in the universe, with billions of stars in every galaxy. Could billions of planets be out there too? - [Who owns the beach? It depends on state law and tide lines]( Thomas Ankersen, University of Florida In principle, some portion of the shoreline is public land along virtually all US coasts. But these can sometimes overlap with private property interests, creating confusion and conflict. - [Should fully immunized people wear masks indoors? An infectious disease physician weighs in]( Peter Chin-Hong, University of California, San Francisco As Los Angeles County again mandates masking indoors – even for the fully vaccinated – local health officials in the U.S. are closely eyeing their own COVID-19 vaccination and infection rates. You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451