The United States will begin receiving foreign travellers by land and air from Monday, 20 months after it shut its doors to deal with Covid-19. But they must be fully vaccinated to gain entry.
Children under 18, participants in clinical trials, people with certain contraindications to the vaccine and those in need to travel in emergency or for humanitarian reason, which will have to be certified by the US government, will be exempted, according to a protocol released by the US government in October. They will still have to test for Covid-19, however, except children under-2.
Airlines have been made responsible for enforcing the new travel. “We’re taking an important step forward in operationalising this new system as it relates to international air travel by releasing a series of documents that will help airlines and travellers get ready for November 8 and ensure a smooth transition to the new system,” a senior Biden administration official said to reporters previewing the regulation.
As reported by this newspaper earlier under the new protocol, airlines will require travellers to furnish proof of vaccination issued by an official source – for example, a public health agency, government agency – in the country where the vaccine was given.
All travellers – US citizens, non-citizens, immigrants and non-immigrants – will also be required to produce a negative test for Covid-19, done in the past 24 hours of travel date.
Under the new protocol the airlines will only accept WHO approved vaccines. “Individuals can be considered fully vaccinated ≥2 weeks (more than two weeks) after receipt of the last dose if they have received any single dose of an FDA approved/authorised or WHO EUL (emergency use listing) approved single-dose series (i.e., Janssen), or any combination of two doses of an FDA approved/authorised or WHO emergency use listed Covid-19 two-dose series (i.e. mixing and matching),” the White House had said then.
WHO recognises 10 vaccines. One of them is the Serum Institute of India’s Covidshield, which is the widely administered Indian version of AstraZeneca’s vaccine that the US has not approved but pre-ordered millions of does for its stockpile.