The U-S is lifting COVID-19 vaccination requirements for foreign air travellers and at the border as of May 12th.
Canada ended its vaccination requirements for foreign visitors back in October.
The White House says deaths from COVID-19 around the world are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic, and 95 per cent lower in the U-S than they were in January 2021.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing that Pfizer's treatment was still too expensive. He noted that most countries in Latin America had no access to Pfizer’s drug, Paxlovid , which has been shown to cut the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization or death by up to 90%.
Paxlovid has become the go-to option against COVID-19 because of its at-home convenience and impressive results in heading off severe disease. The U.S. government has spent more than $10 billion to purchase enough pills to treat 20 million people.
About two dozen states reported suspected cases after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out a call for doctors to be on the lookout for surprising cases of hepatitis. The cases date back to late October in children under 10. So far, only nine cases in Alabama have been confirmed.
FDA officials said in a statement that they decided to restrict J&J's vaccine after taking another look at data on the risk of life-threatening blood clots within two week of vaccination.
Preliminary research suggests it is about 25 per cent more transmissible than the BA.2 subvariant that is currently dominant nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the Embassy, following the meeting of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on March 25, the Chinese side has expressed its willingness to consider facilitating the return of Indian students to China on a need-assessed basis.