Soon after the US authorities announced that the country would open on November 8 for fully vaccinated international travelers arriving from 33 countries, data regarding the vaccination status was revealed.
On Monday, October 25, the administration of the United States published additional details related to the removal of the entry ban for vaccinated travelers.
Through a press release issued by the White House, it has been explained that as soon as the travel ban is lifted, international travelers will be able to enter the country provided that they present valid proof of immunization.
“Starting on November 8, non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the US, with only limited exceptions,” a statement on a press release issued by the White House reads.
Apart from that, in order to make the travel process easier, the US authorities have announced that the country will now recognize all vaccination certificates that indicate that the holder has been immunized against the virus with one of the vaccines approved for use by the World Health Organization (WHO), VisaGuide.World reports.
This means that all those vaccinated with one of the following jabs are considered fully vaccinated when entering the US:
- Moderna (Spikevax)
- AstraZeneca, including Covishield
- Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty)
- Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
- Sinopharm (Beijing)
- Sinovac (CoronaVac)
Pfizer, Moderna, and Janssen were already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“CDC has determined that for purposes of travel to the United States, vaccines accepted will include FDA approved or authorized and World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines,” the White House explained.
Additionally, except for accepting all of the above-mentioned vaccine doses, the US authorities have also revealed that travelers who have been vaccinated with two different doses are also eligible to enter the country provided that the required time frame between the first and the last dose is met.
“While CDC has not recommended mixing types of a vaccine in a primary series, we recognize that this is increasingly common in other countries so should be accepted for the interpretation of vaccine records,” a CDC spokesperson said.
Aside from these requirements, before traveling to the US, each traveler should make sure that at least 14 days have passed since their last dose has been administered.
Regarding the vaccination certificate’s verification, the authorities noted that they would be checked before boarding the plane, meaning that the airline staff will be responsible for confirming proof of vaccination and determining if an official body has issued the document.
Even though the US has imposed vaccination requirements on everyone, it has been highlighted that several exemptions will apply. In line with the information provided by the White House, the following categories will be released from the vaccination requirement:
- Children under 18
- Participants of COVID-19 clinical trials
- Persons who can’t get vaccinated due to health-related issues
- Persons reaching the US for humanitarian or emergency purposes
- Persons from countries with low availability of vaccines
Nonetheless, all those who fall under this list must prove that they will follow the health requirements of the US.
In order to avoid any inconvenience when traveling to another country, it is highly suggested that everyone checks the validity of their vaccine. This can be done by using the vaccine-checker tool developed by VisaGuide.World, which allows all travellers to verify whether the vaccine dose they have been immunized with is accepted as valid proof of immunity by the country they plan on visiting.