New rules and requirements regarding COVID-19 vaccines will apply to international visitors flying to the US starting November 8th.
Angus Mordant / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The US has introduced new rules and regulations for travelers from other countries that will go into effect on Monday, November 8th.
In short, if you have a WHO approved vaccine you are welcome. If not, you may find yourself in pandemic limbo – and feeling very frustrated.
“Some parts of the guideline are fair and others burdensome and exclusive, but overall the revised guidelines are based on clinical and health-related evidence,” says Dr. Junaid Nabi, a senior researcher in health strategy at Harvard Business School.
Here is an overview of the new protocols for those coming from abroad to attend a job, study, family – or to find a new home for humanitarian reasons. We will also look at obstacles that are emerging.
Which vaccines are on the OK list
If you have been vaccinated, you will need to provide a digital or printed version of the ID along with an ID that matches all of your personal information on the vaccination card. But not all versions of the vaccine are suitable. Under the new rules, vaccines accepted for travel to the US are limited to those currently approved or approved by the World Health Organization or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These include Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), AstraZeneca-Oxford and the two Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac.
But it leaves out the widely used Russian vaccine Sputnik V, for example. India, Mexico, Turkey, Honduras, Iran and the Palestinian Territories are among the places that have used the Sputnik vaccine to vaccinate millions. The CDC hasn’t said why Sputnik didn’t make the cut, but WHO raised concerns about the vaccine’s manufacturing facility this summer. In addition, an Associated Press report found that some countries that received the first of the two doses of Sputnik had difficulty getting all of the second doses they needed.
Exceptions for unvaccinated people
Much of the world is not vaccinated. According to current information from Our World in Data, 49.4% of the world’s population have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but only 3.6% of people in low-income countries.
For those who are not vaccinated (or who have not received a vaccine from the approved list), travel to the USA is still possible – but only if they meet one of the conditions for an exemption as described US State Department lists.
Perhaps the most far-reaching exception is travelers with passports from a country where less than 10% of the country’s population has been vaccinated. This list will according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be updated regularly. There are currently 50 countries on the list, 34 of them in Africa.
Further exceptions for unvaccinated travelers are:
Perhaps the to-do list for the unvaccinated
But just being on the “exception list” does not guarantee an easy entry. This is where the “incriminating” and “excluding” elements come into play, says Nabi.
First and foremost, it is a matter of doing a COVID-19 test before the flight to the USA, which provides results in time to present them at the airport.
“For many countries, COVID testing remains limited and inaccessible,” says Nabi, “often the result of limited resources or ongoing political conflict that makes widespread testing difficult.”
And even if there are theoretical tests, it is not always easy to get one.
“People in many low-income countries have to walk that long to get to the airport,” says Nabi. “You may not have a laboratory in your home village and you may not have the time to go [for a test] when they arrive in airport city or can afford the cost. “He also notes that finding a vaccination clinic in a foreign city can be challenging if they don’t know someone or where to go.”
For now, it remains unanswered whether the US will raise the current percentage limit or remove countries from the list if vaccination rates hopefully rise above 10%.
And when you arrive there are more rules to follow
The Biden administration’s new rules also affect protocols after arriving in the US, including further testing, isolation if you contract COVID-19, and a strong push to get vaccination for people who are 60 days or less stay longer in the country. Here is a Link to Everything US Citizens and Foreigners Need to Know What to Expect in the Days After Traveling to the US from another country.
The CDC does not say how it will enforce these rules upon arrival, although the Department of Transportation and Homeland Security may deny boarding to anyone who does not comply.
As the countdown to the launch date begins on November 8th, some medical authorities fear that the quick timing will add to the confusion of potential overseas visitors.
But at least one public health specialist believes the new rules could bring quick public health benefits. Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor, The Director of Policy and Advocacy at Nigeria Health Watch said, “There are vaccination centers in every state in Nigeria, including rural primary health centers. Anyone who wants to get vaccinated now can go inside. [But] there are few people because of vaccine reluctance. “
Many people in Nigeria have families in the US and are hoping to travel there for the holidays, says Nsofor. He hopes the new rules may encourage them to overcome any hesitation or procrastination: “If you want to go, get vaccinated.”
Fran Kritz is a Washington, DC-based health policy reporter who contributed to The Washington Post and Kaiser Health News. Find her on Twitter @fkritz
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