Vaccinated Foreign Travelers will be Allowed Entry to the US, Starting on Nov. 8

     For the first time since early 2020, foreign travelers, who provide proof full COVID-19 vaccination with shots that were authorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be allowed entry to the US, beginning Nov. 8.

     The WHO has authorized the COVID vaccines created by AstraZeneca, Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac, none of which have approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

     Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, however, which millions of people have received, remains unauthorized for emergency use, by the WHO. 

     The US will admit travelers who have received “mix and match” doses of vaccines from different pharmaceutical companies, but no travelers will be considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their last doses.

     In addition to proof of vaccination, foreign travelers to the US also must provide negative COVID tests that were taken within three days of their departures, the White House announced today.

     Although the White House’s updated guidance also exempts children who are under the age of 18 from the vaccine requirement, due to their ineligibility in many countries, teens who are between the ages of 12 and 17 will still be required to provide negative COVIDS tests that were taken in the three days that preceding travelers’ flights.

   The only exemptions to the White House’s new guidance will be applied to foreign travelers who have medical contraindications to the vaccine, who are traveling for emergency or humanitarian reasons, and who are travelling from countries that have vaccination rates below 10%, due to a lack of supply.

     To enter the US, unvaccinated travelers, regardless of citizenship or visa status, now must test negative for COVID-19 within one day of their departures, rather than the previous three-day requirement.