That year much of the United States was against that Coronavirus and other nations did their own vaccine rollouts, experts estimated that international travel would pick up again by autumn – if enough of the world were vaccinated. But with late vaccinations and thanks to the highly contagious Delta variant, the cases are increasing again worldwide, what does that mean for autumn trips?

While breakthrough cases were always expected in vaccinated persons and mainly show mild symptoms, the Delta variant is the one now widespread In the USA, the course of infection changes in underinoculated areas. And it leads to some return restrictions: After a Fall top in Las Vegas, for example, employees in the city are again required to wear a mask indoors and officials in some places warning against travel to the area.

“With the Delta variant, we are now at quite a turning point, because what has been found in the last few weeks is that even vaccinated people become infected with low frequency,” says Dr. David Freedman, an infectious disease specialist emeritus at the University of Alabama at Birmingham whose COVID-19 research focuses on travel. “People don’t want to go out and get sick, especially in places where they don’t get good medical care.”

If you are planning on traveling this fall, here are some things to keep in mind to stick with or postpone your plans.

Should I book autumn trips now?

According to experts, it depends on your state of health and the epidemiological situation you are traveling to. Those with underlying diseases should travel abroad even if they are vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is now offering Country-specific travel advice This ranges from a level 4 warning (COVID-19 very high) to level 1 (COVID-19 low). In general, unvaccinated people should avoid international travel, according to CDC, and those who are vaccinated should avoid unnecessary travel Level 4 Destinations.

How travel will affect in the coming months, the course of COVID-19 cases in the US remains unclear, says Freedman, mainly because that trend will depend heavily on the number of people who choose to get vaccinated. According to the CDC, which collects national records predict The future spread of the disease in the US: “Newly reported COVID-19 cases will remain stable or have an uncertain trend, with 92,000 to 803,000 new cases likely to be reported in the week ending August 14, 2021,” with the vast majority of them Cases in unvaccinated people. (Above 332,000 cases were reported in the past weekIt’s worth noting, however, that COVID-19 cases rose historically in the fall, when colder weather drives people back indoors.

Because of this, travel can be risky for people with compromised immunity, even if they are vaccinated. “People have to be honest with themselves and if they have health problems they shouldn’t travel,” says Freedman. The bottom line, he notes, is that vaccinated people are much less likely to become seriously ill.

Do destinations remain open?

Some destinations that recently opened their doors to summer tourists are already imposing restrictions again due to the delta variant. While many Countries in Europe allow Americans again, some recently rolled back curfews and indoor eating restrictions to help slow the spread of the virus. Greece, for example, has prohibited music in bars and curfews in night clubs like Mykonos. France, which only allows vaccinated visitors, will also start the requirement Vaccination certificate to dine indoors. In the Caribbean it has turks and caicos narrowed the time frame for visitors to get a negative coronavirus test, reducing the window of opportunity from five days prior to arrival to three days. Travel in Europe could also be suspended at any time thanks to the conditions built into the reopening of tourism in the European Union: Member States can cancel the trip at any time via an “emergency brake” set up by the heads of state and government of the EU. The region’s tourism plan is based on a digital health passport available to Americans.