The Biden Administration’s decision to keep the northern border closed to Canadians wanting to enter the United States has New Hampshire politicians on both sides of the aisle upset.
Governor Chris Sununu had already been pushing to open up the border to Canadians who make up a big segment of the state’s tourism economy. Now that the Trudeau government has announced plans to open the Canadian border to vaccinated Americans on Aug. 9, the governor is even more upset at President Joe Biden’s decision to extend the non-essential travel ban preventing vaccinated Canadians from crossing the border to Aug. 21.
Congressional Democrats Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas also urged Biden to reconsider his decision, writing, “Allowing vaccinated Canadian tourists to travel between our two countries will spur job creation on either side of the border and keep our economies on the path to recovery.”
Combatting The Virus
Concerned about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is the form of the disease most prevalent now and causing a surge in cases, the Biden Administration has directed $1.6 billion in testing to high-risk settings like prisons and shelters for the homeless and victims of violence. There already were plans to send an additional $398 million to small rural hospitals to help combat the virus.
The increase in the number of infections has not persuaded more Americans to get the vaccine, despite government efforts to boost vaccination rates, and even the number of tests administered has been declining, making it more likely that the pandemic will hold on and continue hurting the economic recovery. Many people are shunning the vaccine because of the number of adverse reactions that have been reported.
Health experts say the risks are worth it, pointing to the increased number of deaths among those who are not vaccinated. Those with the vaccine generally experience milder symptoms if they contract the disease after receiving the shot.
The Biden Administration also is also pushing for cheaper at-home tests that parents can use to distinguish between the coronavirus and the flu.
Common Cold Makes A Comeback
While incidents of colds and influenza last winter were at their lowest levels since 1997 — attributed to the measures people were taking to avoid COVID-19 — respiratory syncytial virus, which causes colds, reemerged in April and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that “respiratory viruses might not exhibit typical seasonal circulation patterns” this year.
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