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State Department eases travel advisories for dozens of countries
The State Department on Tuesday slightly eased the severity of travel advisories for dozens of countries.
Why it matters: The agency is still recommending that Americans avoid international travel to these countries due to serious risks associated with the pandemic, in its second-highest warning level.
- But the easing of restrictions comes as more Americans are getting vaccinated, returning to daily life and itching to travel again.
Details: Ukraine, Switzerland, South Africa, Mexico, Japan, Italy, France, Guatemala, Bulgaria and the Philippines are among those countries now under the "Level 3" travel warning.
- The agency said in a statement that it updated travel advisories to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's health notices, per Bloomberg.
Newsmax apologizes to Dominion employee for false voter manipulation claims
Newsmax apologized to a Dominion Voting Systems employee for airing false allegations that he manipulated the 2020 presidential election results.
The big picture: Eric Coomer, Dominion's security director, in return dropped Newsmax from a defamation lawsuit, which he filed "after being named in false charges as a key actor in 'rigging' the election," AP writes.
- Coomer started receiving death threats due to the claims, per AP.
What they're saying: "On behalf of Newsmax, we would like to apologize for any harm that our reporting of the allegations against Dr. Coomer may have caused to Dr. Coomer and his family," the conservative news network said in a statement Friday.
- "Newsmax has found no evidence that Dr. Coomer interfered with Dominion voting machines or voting software in any way, nor that Dr. Coomer ever claimed to have done so."
- "Many of the states whose results were contested by the Trump campaign after the November 2020 election have conducted extensive recounts and audits, and each of these states certified the results as legal and final."
The statement was also read on air.
How Biden could help speed up coronavirus vaccinations
Joe Biden's ability to improve coronavirus vaccinations across the U.S. will largely depend on stronger partnerships with the states, experts said.
Why it matters: The next several months will present a new, whack-a-mole set of problems, all with tough tradeoffs.
The big picture: “I think that outreach and offering of assistance...would be a different approach from what we’ve seen before during the pandemic,” said Eric Toner, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
- “They should be asking each locale, 'What is it you need to meet this target we are setting for you?'” said Leana Wen, a visiting professor at George Washington University, adding that “the federal government can streamline” many inefficiencies for states and localities.
Details: Cities and states are facing a variety of challenges, and federal help would likely often involve working through individual locations' specific issues with them.
- It could also mean communicating national best practices, sending teams of officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help states on the ground, working with states on how to phase in different priority groups, and providing the resources — including funding — that states will need to run mass vaccination sites.
- The federal government could also incentivize efficient distribution by creating strict rules for states about how quickly they must administer doses before they're diverted elsewhere, Wen wrote in a recent WaPo op-ed about how the federal government could speed up the vaccine process.
- It could also help with recruiting vaccinators by working with national associations, removing licensing barriers and covering liability protection, Wen adds.
Where it stands: The Trump administration announced yesterday that it’s expanding access to the vaccines, and adopted on its own some of the changes Biden has said he would make.
Yes, but: Opening the eligibility floodgates could create its own set of logistical problems.
- “I think just throwing open the doors to this very large group without time for preparation, without having logistics of the mass vaccination clinics established, without working with the pharmacies…I think it is a recipe for chaos,” Toner said.
- If demand starts to outstrip supply, governments and health systems will have to tighten their eligibility criteria back up or experiment with new, untested dosing regimens — responses that would likely benefit from federal guidance.
- And speeding up the vaccination process may also require additional federal funding.
The bottom line: Partnering with cities and states doesn’t make for a great campaign slogan, but it’s what governors and health care officials say this process needs.



