COVID-19 rates are plunging among migrants crossing the border from Mexico as the Biden administration faces a decision to end or extend sweeping restrictions on asylum that are aimed at limiting the virus’ spread.

Migrants are once again seeking asylum in Canada after the country lifted a 20-month ban.

The U.S. recommendation to “pause” use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine set off a chain reaction worldwide and dealt a setback to the global vaccine campaign.

But they have become louder following repeated revelations that transmission-prevention guidance crafted by CDC scientists was never adopted by the White House. The White House Coronavirus Task Force moved to center stage. Two other task force members — Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health — became the task force's chief scientific communicators. “At the White House briefings, they (CDC) should be talking about antibody tests and if they work. The government has continued to look to CDC officials for information and guidance, but there have been repeated instances when what the agency's experts send to Washington is rejected.

A smartphone belonging to Drew Grande, 40, of Cranston, R.I., shows notes he made for contact tracing Wednesday, April 15, 2020. “We are trying to build these teams and processes in the midst of a crisis,” said Sharon Bogan, a public health spokeswoman for Seattle and King County, which are seeking at least 20 more investigators. The work could require as many as 300,000 public health workers — a daunting number given that the combined federal, state, and local public health workforce has been shrinking and is now probably less than 280,000, according to some estimates. To address the shortage of help, governments are weighing whether to enlist people with little to no experience in public health, including the Peace Corps volunteers, furloughed social workers and public health students. Seattle scientist Trevor Bedford has developed a digital interview that public health departments can use if they don’t have enough people trained in contact tracing.

And they largely reinforce plans already in the works by governors, who have primary responsibility for public health in their states. “You’re going to call your own shots,” Trump told the governors Thursday afternoon in a conference call, according to an audio recording obtained by The Associated Press. In briefing governors on the plan, Trump said they were going to be responsible for deciding when it is safe to lift restrictions in their states. “We have a very large number of states that want to get going and they’re in very good shape,” Trump said. Trump also held conference calls Thursday with lawmakers he named to a new congressional advisory task force on reviving the economy.

All of the deaths have occurred in Washington state, and most were residents of a nursing home in suburban Seattle. The number of infections in the U.S. overall climbed past 100, scattered across at least 15 states, with 27 cases in Washington alone. A Wake County resident who had visited the Washington state nursing home tested positive but is in isolation at home and is doing well, according to the North Carolina governor's office. In Washington state, researchers believe the virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks. An Amazon employee in Seattle tested positive for the new virus, The Seattle Times reported, citing a message from the company.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON, D.C. – Frustration over lack of access to coronavirus testing boiled over Tuesday as Trump administration officials sought to reassure skeptical lawmakers the nation will have the capacity for 1 million tests within days. But when senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee pressed on whether the government will meet its self-imposed deadline, health officials avoided making hard promises. But the U.S. has trailed other countries in rolling out tests, because of problems with its test kits and because the CDC initially limited the number of eligible people. As of Tuesday, 54 state and local labs were able to do tests, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories. Health officials think it spreads mainly from droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how the flu spreads.

Under fire about the government's response, he put Vice President Mike Pence to lead the administration's response. Pence on Thursday named the State Department's global health doctor to coordinate the coronavirus response. The newest case from California brings the total number infected in the U.S. to 60, most of them evacuated from outbreak zones. Earlier this week, Trump requested $2.5 billion from Congress to fight the virus. Indiana law at the time prohibited needle exchanges, exacerbating the outbreak, which primarily infected intravenous users of the painkiller Opana.

The CDC says its tests found vitamin E acetate in samples taken from 29 patients who were sick with vaping-related illness in 10 states. In September, New York health officials linked cases of severe lung illness to vitamin E acetate in cannabis-containing vaping products. At the time, investigators said it was "a key focus" of the state's investigation into the illnesses. An investigation into the link between vaping and severe lung illnesses has yielded the discovery of extremely high levels of the chemical vitamin E acetate in nearly all cannabis-containing vaping products that were analyzed, New York health officials said Thursday. Until the investigation is complete, the CDC suggests people refrain from using all vaping products with THC, no matter where people buy them.

Mary Kerrie's death hasn't yet been counted in the CDC's total. Only after her death did the Davis family learn that Mary Kerrie had continued buying and using THC cartridges in Georgia. If and when it is announced, Mary Kerrie's death could be the fourth, potentially making Georgia's death count the highest in the United States. Mary Kerrie's legacyThe Davis family and Mary Kerrie's friends want her to be remembered for the good she brought into their lives. The Davis family attributes part of the blame for Mary Kerrie's death to a lack of regulation by the US Food and Drug Administration.

(CNN) - The federal investigation into what exactly is causing a peculiar outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries nationwide could continue for months. Last week, the FDA warned consumers to stop using THC vaping products as investigations into vaping-related lung injuries and deaths continue. The CDC on Friday released updated guidance for health workers caring for people with vaping-related lung injuries. In the guidance, the CDC refers to the e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury by a new acronym, EVALI. Schuchat said on Friday that a "handful" of lung injury patients have been readmitted to hospitals from five to 55 days after they were discharged.

(CNN) - U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi announced new legislation Monday that would put a cap on the concentration of nicotine in e-cigarette products. The move mirrors regulations in places like the European Union, which imposes the same cap of 20 milligrams per milliliter. Experts say that high nicotine concentrations have played a role in what they describe as an epidemic of vaping among youth. "Capping the concentration of nicotine in e-cigarettes is integral to ending the youth vaping epidemic by making these products less addictive, less appealing to youth, and less harmful to public health. "The nicotine salts that are used in the more recent generations of e-cigarettes make the product very palatable."

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(CNN) - The US Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to stop using THC vaping products as investigations into vaping-related lung injuries and deaths continue. "We're strengthening our message to the public in an updated consumer alert stating that they should not use vaping products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of the cannabis plant," Sharpless said in the statement. "Additionally, consumers who choose to use any vaping products should not modify or add any substances such as THC or other oils to products purchased in stores and should not purchase any vaping products, including those containing THC, off the street or from other illicit channels," he said, adding that "according to recent findings, most of the patients impacted by these illnesses reported using THC-containing products, suggesting THC products are playing a role in the these illnesses." For those who choose to continue using vaping products, particularly those containing THC, Sharpless urged monitoring for symptoms and promptly seeking medical attention if people have concerns about their health. While the cause of the outbreak remains unknown, "we found that about 78% reported using THC containing products," she said.

Copyright 2019 CNN(CNN) - Nebraska health officials on Monday announced the state's first death due to severe lung disease linked to vaping, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed deaths to 14. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said the death occurred in May -- before the outbreak was officially recognized this summer. "Once the problem was recognized, states quickly ramped up surveillance and found current cases, but have also discovered cases that occurred before the August outbreak." A specific cause of the nationwide outbreak of lung injuries remains unknown, but health officials are zeroing in on potential clues. "However, we do not know whether the only risky substance for lung injury is the THC-containing products."

Of more than 500 patients who offered information on what substances they used, nearly 77% reported THC-containing products, while nearly 57% reported nicotine-containing products. Health officials identified 234 unique vaping products across 87 brand names. In some cases, patients were found to have used THC products who initially said they hadn't. Multiple avenues are being tested for, including cutting agents or adulterants that might be added to vaping products. "However, we do not know whether the only risky substance for lung injury is the THC-containing products."

A specific cause of the outbreak remains unknown, but all reported cases of lung injury have a history of e-cigarette use or vaping. Gina Raimondo signed an executive order directing the state's health department to establish "emergency regulations" forbidding the sale of flavored vaping products in the state. Charlie Baker on Tuesday called for a temporary four-month ban on the sale of all e-cigarettes and vaping products in his state in response to the outbreak. Earlier this month, Michigan banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and New York banned most flavored e-cigarettes. On the national front, the FDA has been working on a compliance policy related to enforcing premarket authorization requirements for flavored e-cigarettes, excluding tobacco flavored.

E-Cigarette vaporizer components and products are displayed at Smoke and Gift Shop on June 25, 2019, in San Francisco. Vaping-related illnesses have been linked to seven deaths, two in California and one each in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Oregon. "I wish we had more answers," Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, said during a media briefing. The CDC and various state health departments have reported widespread use of products containing THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive substance within cannabis. But health officials emphasized Thursday that not all people who became ill had used THC, and many had used multiple substances.

Last year saw the highest number of cases of acute flaccid myelitis so far -- 233 confirmed cases in 41 states. So far this year, there have been 11 confirmed cases in eight states out of 57 patients under investigation. The CDC estimates it affects fewer than 1 or 2 in a million children each year in the United States. "AFM is a devastating illness for patients and their families," Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC's principal deputy director, told reporters Tuesday. The CDC escalated its response to the illness, more than doubling the number of staffers working on AFM late last year.