The U.S. will impose new air travel restrictions in response to the Omicron variant, a new COVID-19 strain first detected in South Africa, President Biden announced Friday.
The big picture: Air travel from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi will be restricted starting on Monday.
Countries across Europe and Asia are rushing through new travel restrictions in response to a new COVID variant identified by scientists in South Africa.
The big picture: Israel, Japan, the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Singapore are moving to restrict entry from countries in the south of Africa, AP reports. Many are also adding quarantines for their own citizens upon return from the region.
As vaccine makers pursue the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, some are working to develop products that wouldn't require a shot.
Why it matters: Delivering a vaccine through a pill or a nasal spray could make them much easier to administer, especially in places where distribution is challenging — or even for people who just don't like needles.
Merck said Friday updated data from a study on its experimental COVID-19 pill showed the drug is less effective than initially reported.
Driving the news: The drugmaker said molnupiravir reduced the risk of hospitalization or death for patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 by about 30%, based on a study of more than 1,400 adults. Last month, the company said the study showed about 50% efficacy, based on data from 775 patients.
U.S. public health officials were set to speak Friday with their South Africa counterparts as they sought scientific details about a new COVID-19 variant already prompting European and Asian countries to enact new travel restrictions.
Driving the news: Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, told CNN Friday "we're rushing now to get that scientific data to try and make an informed decision" on a possible travel ban.
Scientists in South Africa have identified a new COVID-19 variant featuring "a very unusual constellation of mutations" that could potentially drive another wave of cases, officials warned on Thursday.
Why it matters: The variant, known as B.1.1.529, has so far been found in Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong, in a traveler, but could soon spread "all over," South African health minister Joe Phaahla said.
The European Union's drug regulatory agency on Thursday recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years old.
Driving the news: The European Medicines Agency said the dose for kids "will be lower than that used in people aged 12 and above," per a press release from the agency.
President Biden had a polyp removed that was a "benign, slow-growing, but thought to be precancerous lesion" after having a routine colonoscopy last week, the White House physician said in a memorandum released Wednesday.
Driving the news: Testing identified it "as a tubular adenoma," which was "similar to the polyp which he had removed in 2008," according to physician Kevin O'Connor's memo, dated Tuesday.
The Biden administration will begin requiring essential travelers crossing U.S. borders to be fully vaccinated starting Jan. 22, a White House spokesperson told Axios Wednesday.
Why it matters: The move comes after the U.S. opened land borders with Canada and Mexico to non-essential travel in November, but only to those fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
