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Canada's COVID-19 travel rules: What's changing this summer? Now that summer is officially here, many travel restrictions have dropped with declining COVID-19 activity, potentially making travelling more appealing despite massive delays at airports and passport offices. In the last few weeks, a number of pandemic travel restrictions and rules have changed or been lifted, thanks to easing COVID-19 cases and indicators across the country. For example, as of June 20, COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers have been lifted, which means unvaccinated Canadians can board a plane or passenger train when travelling within the country. But some restrictions do remain, including the requirement for all domestic travellers to wear face masks on planes and interprovincial trains in Canada. For more details on what’s new, what rules have changed and what restrictions are still in place, read Aaron D’Andrea’s story. 
Will Canadians need a 4th COVID-19 dose? Canada’s top doctor, Theresa Tam, says COVID-19 vaccine efficiency wanes significantly over time — from 50 to 80 per cent effectiveness down to 20 per cent or lower six months after the second dose. This is why Ottawa plans to change its definition of what it means to be fully protected against the virus to encourage Canadians to remain “up to date” with their vaccines, rather than specifying a certain number of doses. The National Advisory Committee of Immunization (NACI), which advises the federal, provincial and territorial governments about the use of vaccines, in April strongly recommended a second booster for adults 80 and older and residents of long-term care or other congregate settings. But should Canadians in other age groups who have already received a booster get a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine? Read this story from Global News reporter Saba Aziz to find out what the experts say. 
Q: Am I more prone to other illnesses if I have been previously infected with COVID-19? As with many questions about COVID-19, definitive answers are hard to come by, since epidemiologists and infectious disease experts continue to study the effects of this virus and its variants. But Dr. Raymond Tellier, a physician and medical microbiologist at the McGill University Health Centre, says — unlike a virus like HIV — COVID-19 is not believed to damage the immune system. “A previous infection with COVID is not expected to prevent our immune system to mount an effective response against other infections afterward,” he said. That means the capacity of the immune system to continue to function normally after contracting and recovering from COVID-19 remains, he said. “Throughout our lifetime, our immune system responds to many, many infectious threats and, to use a cliché, it is capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time.” However, patients who develop so-called long COVID who experience lung damage with persisting shortness of breath could be more vulnerable to subsequent severe illness, like other patients with chronic illnesses, Tellier added. “The best way to prevent contracting severe long COVID is to get vaccinated against COVID.” | 
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