US to allow entry to those fully vaccinated with WHO, FDA-approved shots
Oct 15, 2021
Washington [US], October 16 : The United States will allow entry only to those foreign nationals who have been fully immunised with a coronavirus vaccine that has been approved either by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the World Health Organization (WHO), the State Department informed on Friday.
This comes after the White House had informed that foreign travellers, who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, will be able to enter the US from November 8.
"The CDC's (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website explains that for the purposes of entry into the United States, the accepted vaccines will include FDA approved or authorized and WHO emergency use listing vaccines," Sputnik quoted the State Department spokesperson Ned Price as saying during a press briefing.
White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz earlier had said that this announcement applies to both international air travel and land travel. "This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent," he further wrote in a tweet.
This step is expected to relax a number of bans that began to create problems for international travellers, CNN reported.
A White House official told CNN that further guidance on "very limited exceptions" to the requirements, along with what COVID-19 vaccines will be accepted and other operational details in advance of the November 8 date.
"CDC has already informed airlines that all FDA approved and authorized vaccines, as well as all vaccines that have an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the WHO will be accepted for air travel. We anticipate the same will be true at the land border," the official said.
The same rules will also apply to non-essential travel at the American land borders and to visitors who arrive in the US by passenger ferry, reported CNN.
"These travellers are required to be prepared to attest to vaccination status and to present proof of vaccination to a CBP officer upon request," the official said, adding, "By January, foreign nationals travelling across the land border for both essential and non-essential reasons will be required to be fully vaccinated."
