• As Australia prepares to re-open its borders for the first time in 19 months. Initially, inbound travel will be limited to returning citizens and residents. Travelers given mixed doses of approved coronavirus vaccines will be considered fully inoculated. Source
• Europe rolls out coronavirus boosters to elderly and immunocompromised people as COVID-19 cases surge; some countries are considering whether to expand eligibility to include all adults. The EMA has already cleared mRNA boosters for people ages 18 and older, at least six months after their second dose, leaving decisions on who will receive booster, and when, to individual governments. But Scientific questions remain about the justification for giving boosters, especially to younger people with healthy immune systems, and globally, access to coronavirus vaccines remains inequitable, and will become more lopsided as high-income countries provide boosters while poorer countries are not close to achieving vaccination targets. Source
• The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a long-awaited report on the origins of COVID-19. It concluded that SARS-CoV-2 was unlikely to be a biological weapon. Most US analysts agree that it will be impossible to determine the virus’s origins without China’s cooperation. The report noted that China’s resistance to collaborating with other nations to investigate the origin of SAS-CoV-2 stems from “…uncertainty about where an investigation could lead as well as its frustration the international community is using the issue to exert political pressure on China.” Source