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BRUSSELS -- Europe's vaccine solidarity got a boost on Friday after France said it could emulate Italy's move to block coronavirus vaccine exports outside the European Union if that's what is needed to enforce the bloc's own contracts with drugs manufacturers. Source

GENEVA -- At a time when seemingly everyone in Europe is wearing masks to battle COVID-19, the Swiss go to the polls Sunday to vote on a long-laid proposal to ban face-coverings, both the niqabs and burqas worn by a few Muslim women in the country and the ski masks and bandannas used by protesters. Source

A one-dose COVID-19 vaccine is now approved for use in Canada — and vaccine experts say the shot from Johnson & Johnson could give a major boost to countrywide vaccination efforts while offering a "real solution" to hasten the end of the pandemic. Source

TORONTO -- Ontario is reporting a spike in new COVID-19 infections with more than 1,200 cases logged Friday. The 1,250 new infections mark an increase over Thursday’s report when 994 cases were logged. This is the first time in three consecutive days that the province has added more than 1,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus. Source

WAUKESHA, WIS. -- One of the teens convicted of stabbing a classmate to please the fictional internet horror character Slender Man is expected to ask for release from a Wisconsin mental health facility. Anissa Weier, 19, is scheduled to appear Wednesday before the Waukesha County Circuit Court judge who earlier sentenced her to 25 years in a mental health institution and ask for her conditional release. Source

Mississippi moved one step closer to banning transgender athletes from participating in women's sports after the state House approved a bill on Wednesday that could make the state the first in the country to add anti-transgender legislation to its books this year. Source

BRASILIA -- After two straight days of record COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday told Brazilians to stop "whining" and move on, in his latest remarks attacking distancing measures and downplaying the gravity of the pandemic. Source

TORONTO -- The judge who found Alek Minassian guilty of murder and attempted murder in the Toronto van attack set Canadian precedent Wednesday by considering autism a "mental disorder" under the Criminal Code. Justice Anne Molloy ruled that autism spectrum disorder did not leave the 28-year-old not criminally responsible for killing 10 people and injuring 16 others, but her decision to consider that possibility means the argument could be made in future cases. Source

OTTAWA -- Health Canada is to announce approval of the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson and Johnson this morning, according to multiple sources aware of the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly. The federal regulator has found the evidence shows the vaccine is both safe and effective against the virus that causes COVID-19. Source

OTTAWA -- The first one-shot COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson has been authorized by Health Canada, making it the fourth vaccine that can be administered to Canadians. Health Canada is now the first major regulator to have approved four different COVID-19 vaccines for use, said chief medical adviser at Health Canada Dr. Source