Biden to reinstate Covid restriction on non-US travellers, add South Africa

Biden is reversing an order from President Donald Trump in his final days in office that called for the relaxation of the travel restrictions as of Tuesday

President Joe Biden will impose a ban on most non-US citizens entering the country who have recently been in South Africa starting Saturday in a bid to contain the spread of a new variant of Covid-19, a senior US public health official told Reuters.

Biden on Monday is also reimposing an entry ban on nearly all non-US travelers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders. “We are adding South Africa to the restricted list because of the concerning variant present that has already spread beyond South Africa,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC’s principal deputy director, in an interview Sunday. She added the agency was “putting in place this suite of measures to protect Americans and also to reduce the risk of these variants spreading and worsening the current pandemic.” Trump directed in January 18 those restrictions on Brazil and Europe be lifted effective Tuesday but Biden’s proclamation will rescind that decision. 

Senate aims to pass Covid Bill ahead of trial

The US Senate is aiming to pass Covid relief legislation before former President Trump's impeachment trial, a lawmaker said on Monday, amid growing signs of agreement on the need to speed vaccine distribution.

Vaccine appears to be effective against new variants: Moderna

Moderna said on Monday its vaccine produced virus-neutralising antibodies in tests against new Covid variants found in the UK and South Africa. 

Moderna plans trial of an altered vaccine booster to address the South Africa variant.

UK, EU consider tougher border restrictions  

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he was looking at toughening border quarantine rules because of the risk of “vaccine-busting” new coronavirus variants. The European Union’s executive body proposed Monday that the bloc’s 27 nations impose more travel restrictions to counter the worrying spread of new coronavirus variants but make sure to keep goods and workers moving across EU borders. Agencies

Merck junks Covid vaccine development

Merck is discontinuing development of its two experimental Covid-19 vaccines after early trial data showed they failed to generate immune responses comparable to a natural infection or existing vaccines. The results were “disappointing, and a bit of a surprise,” said Nick Kartsonis, senior vice president of clinical research for infectious diseases and vaccines at Merck Research Laboratories. Bloomberg