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Canada easing COVID-19 border testing rules for some children Starting Monday, unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children aged five to 11 who are accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent or guardian will no longer need a COVID-19 test to enter Canada. Pre-entry tests will still be required for travellers 12 and older who aren’t fully vaccinated. In addition, fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada on or after April 25 will no longer be required to wear masks in public spaces, monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms, quarantine if another traveller in the same travel group shows signs or symptoms or tests positive, and maintain a list of close contacts and locations visited. The federal government announced the changes Friday, just over three weeks after Canada stopped requiring pre-arrival COVID-19 tests for fully vaccinated travellers. Global News reporter Aaron D’Andrea has more on the most recent border rule changes. 
Canadians travel overseas to avoid surgical backlogs Surgery backlogs made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic have steered some Canadians overseas to get their procedures more quickly. "I had to do something," Patricia Rush, 60, who travelled from her home in Alberta to Lithuania for a hip replacement, told Global News. After being sent for an MRI in May 2020, Rush was told she had a fibril tear in her hip with a three-quarter cyst inside. She visited a hip and knee clinic in Alberta where she was told the wait time for surgery would be 15 months. Rush still hasn’t heard back. When researching her options outside of the country, Rush spoke with friends who previously travelled to Lithuania for private surgeries. Rush had a total hip replacement at Lithuania's Nord Clinic on Oct. 11, 2021, one month after reaching out to them. "I think when we hear about Canadians going overseas to seek medical treatment, it again is a reminder that our universal health-care system is no longer functioning adequately to meet the needs of Canadians," said Dr. Katharine Smart, president of the Canadian Medical Association. Read here to find out what provinces are doing to remedy the backlog crisis in Canada. 
Q: My entire family recently tested positive for COVID-19, including my newborn who was only two weeks old. Thankfully, he was asymptomatic. But does that mean he won't have immunity against future infection? “The level of protective antibodies doesn't always correlate with the severity of infection,” said Dr. Vandana Madhavan, clinical director of Pediatric Infectious Disease at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. “We do know that people who have had a COVID infection and then are vaccinated typically have a stronger response with higher antibody titers (levels). A newborn has a less mature immune system than older children and adults so will likely not respond as well to infection.” Madhavan points out, however, that if the mother was vaccinated during pregnancy — and depending on the timing of doses and whether the baby was born at term — a newborn should have protection from her through passive immunity, or the transfer of antibodies. | 
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