Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Flying To Canada? You'll Have To Prove You're Covid-Vaccinated
All passengers and workers on commercial air flights in Canada will soon have to prove they've been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Canada's government will also require all federal workers to be vaccinated, citing a "dynamic public health situation" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new travel vaccination policy will apply to passengers and workers in the federally regulated air, rail and cruise ship sectors. It will be enacted "as soon as possible in the fall and no later than the end of October," the Canadian Treasury Board said on Friday. (Chappell, 8/13)
An international system to share coronavirus vaccines was supposed to guarantee that low and middle-income countries could get doses without being last in line and at the mercy of unreliable donations. It hasn鈥檛 worked out that way. In late June alone, the initiative known as COVAX sent some 530,000 doses to Britain 鈥 more than double the amount sent that month to the entire continent of Africa. (Cheng and Hinnant, 8/14)
The U.K. is stepping up its efforts to encourage young people to come forward to take Covid vaccines, with a host of companies offering rewards for those who get a jab. The offers were announced the day after the government said all 16- and 17-year-olds in the U.K. would be offered the jab by next week. The nation is hoping to increase vaccination rates among younger Britons to significantly reduce transmission and protect the population from potential 鈥渓ong-Covid鈥 symptoms. (Goodman, 8/16)
In other global updates about ebola 鈥
Ivory Coast health authorities have confirmed the country鈥檚 first Ebola outbreak in 25 years, according to an emailed statement from the World Health Organization late Saturday. The patient who had arrived from Guinea by road on August 12 was admitted to hospital after experiencing a fever and is currently receiving treatment, the statement said. (de Bassompierre and Mieu, 8/14)