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WASHINGTON – The United States will accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorized by US regulators or the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late Friday.
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On September 20, the White House announced that the United States in November would lift travel restrictions for air travelers from 33 countries, including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe, who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It did not specify then which vaccines would be accepted.
A CDC spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday: “Six vaccines that are licensed / approved by the FDA or listed for emergency use by WHO will meet the criteria for travel to the US.”
Late on Friday, the CDC said that “earlier this week, to help them prepare their systems, we informed the airlines” of the vaccines that would be accepted, adding that “the CDC will release additional guidance and information as it becomes available. travel requirements end. “
Airlines for America, a trade group representing American Airlines Co, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and others, said it was “pleased with the CDC’s decision to approve a list of licensed vaccines for travelers entering the US. We look forward to working with the administration to implement this new global testing and vaccine framework in early November 2021. “
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Some countries had lobbied the Biden administration to accept WHO-approved vaccines, as vaccines licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration are not widely used in all countries.
The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travelers from the 26 so-called Schengen countries in Europe, as well as Great Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented US restrictions have banned the majority of non-US citizens who were in those countries in the past 14 days.
The new COVID-19 vaccine requirements will now apply to nearly all foreign nationals flying to the United States, including those who are not subject to the above restrictions.
The CDC has yet to finalize and publish new contract tracking rules for international visitors, which it sent to the White House for review on Sept. 15.
The CDC must also spell out the rules for exceptions, which include children who are not yet eligible for vaccines, as well as visitors from countries where vaccines are not widely available. The administration must also decide whether to admit visitors as part of COVID-19 clinical trials or if they have recently contracted COVID-19 and are not yet eligible for vaccination.
Reference-torontosun.com