Biden Administration Plans to Require Full Vaccine Status Among Foreign Travelers, White House Official Says
The Biden administration plans to require a full vaccine status among foreign travelers as part of eventually lifting travel restrictions in the U.S, a White House official said.
The unnamed White House official told Reuters Wednesday that the Biden administration wanted to reopen travel to boost tourism and airline business.
However, the official admitted that the Biden administration was still not ready to lift restrictions at the moment due to the rising COVID cases and the presence of the highly transmissible COVID Delta variant.
The Hill reported that the new plan would be operationalized once restrictions on international travel would be lifted in the U.S.
White House Official Says Full Vaccine Status to be Required Among Foreign Travelers
According to the White House official, the Biden administration is now working on a "new system" that will require almost all visitors to the U.S. from overseas to be fully vaccinated against the COVID, New York Post reported.
"Currently, the interagency working groups are developing a policy and planning process to be prepared for when the time is right to transition to this new system," the White House official said.
It was still unclear what proof of vaccination status would be required for travelers or if the U.S. would allow individuals fully vaccinated by vaccines approved for use in other countries but not in the U.S.
New York Post reported that the Biden administration already spoke with U.S. airlines on establishing an international contact tracing for passengers and implementing the policy for requiring vaccines for foreign visitors.
The plan to require full vaccine status among travelers came as the surge of COVID cases happened across the U.S., and vaccination rates have slowed down, The Hill reported.
About 70 percent of American adults have already received at least a dose of vaccine. Currently, Florida, Arkansas, and Texas have a large number of COVID cases.
U.S. Travel Ban
The U.S. already issued a travel ban on China in the past year to prevent the further spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Currently, the U.S. bars travel by non-citizens who have been in China, United Kingdom, Ireland, India, South Africa, Iran, and Brazil within the past 14 days.
The U.S. also bans non-citizens who have been to the U.K., China, India, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, and Iran within the past 14 days.
The said restriction also applies to several EU countries such as Belgium, Austria, France, Finland, Denmark, Greece, and Hungary.
While the U.S. kept the travel restrictions in place, other countries like Canada and other EU countries allowed travel for vaccinated Americans.
It was still unclear when the U.S. would lift the travel restrictions that limit travel to Mexico, Canada, and other EU countries. In July, the White House said they would keep the restrictions because of the Delta variant.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written by: Joshua Summers
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