Moderna says its booster shot significantly raises the level of antibodies that can foil the Omicron coronavirus variant. / The Guardian

Only one in six Americans has received a booster, worrying health officials. / The New York Times

Scouring the web for information about the Omicron storm? Here are some deeper dives we appreciated this morning: one, two, three. / New York Magazine, Axios, Less Wrong

"I would venture to say that there is no modern day virus that has spread this fast and this far ever before." / Your Local Epidemiologist

Unrelated: The public health history of Appalachian Christmas sweets. / Gastro Obscura

Europe sends Nigeria up to a million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine close to expiring—another example of vaccines arriving too late for usefulness to be fully maximized. / Quartz

With a massive troop buildup on Ukraine's border, Russia rattles sabers at NATO. / NPR

Hundreds of thousands march in Sudan's capital Khartoum to protest the country's October military coup. / BBC News

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin basically delivers "a death blow" to President Biden's $2 trillion social services and climate change initiative. / The Associated Press

See also: A rare glimpse into how police officers in Washington DC avoid accountability. / Reveal

Elon Musk says he will pay more taxes this year than any American in history, more than $11 billion. / Bloomberg

The new Spider-Man movie opens to $253 million at the box office, defying expectations. / NBC News

Rapper Drakeo the Ruler dies from a stabbing during a Los Angeles music festival, only a year after being released from what many saw as false imprisonment. / Pitchfork, The Ringer

​​The "Tamalero" is the rare street vendor cart to be approved by the L.A. County Department of Health. / The Los Angeles Times

Jewelry products claiming to "protect" people from 5G mobile networks are found to be radioactive. / BBC News

See also: The story of a missing wedding ring and the Apollo 16. / Futility Closet