Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease expert, received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on camera Tuesday as health officials try to sabotage fears of a new, highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus in the UK.
Reports of the new virus variant in England led to a lockout before Christmas and caused dozens of countries to close their borders to British travelers this week, though on Tuesday the European Union recommends that members roll back sweeping closures to allow for some travel.
But the U.S. government does not intend to impose COVID-19 screenings on passengers traveling from the UK, people told Reuters of the decision.
Members of the White House coronavirus task force backed demanding negative pre-flight tests following a meeting on Monday, but the Trump administration has decided not to take any action for now, the people said.
A medical worker takes a Pap test at the COVID-19 testing center at Düsseldorf Airport as EU countries have imposed travel bans from the UK following the coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19) [Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters]
Canada is implementing improved measures to screen travelers from the UK, including travelers coming from other countries, the public safety minister said Tuesday.
The three airlines operating flights from London to John F Kennedy International Airport – British Airways, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic – voluntarily agreed to a request from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow only passengers traveling test negative.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Monday ordered travelers arriving from the UK, South Africa or other “countries with circulation of a new, potentially more infectious COVID-19 variant” to be quarantined 14 days after arriving in his state. posted.
“This common sense measure will protect Washington residents in our fight against COVID-19,” Inslee said on Twitter.
The death toll in the US exceeds 320,000
News of the coronavirus mutation comes as the US faces a wave of new infections overwhelming hospitals in some states. Deaths in the US passed 320,000 on Tuesday, a day after the total number of infections exceeded 18 million, according to a Johns Hopkins University note.
Some US health officials on Tuesday tried to allay fears about the new virus variant, saying it should be monitored, but its discovery should not be cause for despair.
US Health Secretary Alex Azar told Fox News on Tuesday that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which received US emergency clearances this month, should be effective in preventing disease from the recently discovered variant of the virus. He also said it did not appear to have different physical effects on individuals.
Moderna and BioNTech, who worked with Pfizer Inc to develop the vaccine, are trying to test their shots against the variant, but expressed confidence.
“From a scientific point of view, it is very likely that the immune response provided by this vaccine could also target this virus variant,” BioNTech Chief Executive Ugur Sahin told reporters.
As of Monday, more than 600,000 Americans, mostly health workers, had received their first COVID-19 vaccine doses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some states began vaccinating residents of long-term care facilities on Monday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert who received the Moderna vaccine on camera Tuesday, said surveillance is necessary to track the spread of the British variant, but officials should not overreact.
“Travel bans are really quite draconian things to do,” Fauci told ABC News.
Along with Fauci, Azar and the head of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins is rolling up the sleeves for the Moderna recording on live television on Tuesday.