Canada Urged to Lift Travel Ban on Several African Countries, Focus on Vaccine Equity

Calls continue for Canada to lift its travel ban placed on several African countries in response to the Omicron variant, and instead focus on improving vaccine equity globally. Akwatu Khenti, chair of the Black Scientists' Task Force on Vaccine Equity, said that while the initial travel ban was intended to protect Canadians, Omicron has now spread to multiple countries around the world, including Canada. "It's no longer needed, if it ever was," he said. "Canada should remove the travel ban as soon as possible." Khenti added that he would rather see an approach that leads to vaccine equity and address low vaccination rates in lower-income countries as a priority. Low vaccination numbers create an "incubator for mutations," he said.

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