COVID-19 Travel Bans to Be Lifted

COVID-19 Travel Bans to Be Lifted

On October 15th, the White House announced that the COVID-19 related travel bans will be lifted on November 8, 2021. Once the ban is lifted, it will be replaced by a broad policy requiring both essential and non-essential travelers to provide proof of being fully vaccinated and in some cases, a negative COVID-19 test. The lift of the travel restrictions will apply to land border entries as well as for air travel to the U.S.

Foreign visitors crossing a U.S. land border will need to only show proof of vaccination, while visitors entering by air travel will have to include proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Unvaccinated travelers will still be subjected to the travel restrictions put in place in early 2020. In January 2022, foreign visitors arriving by a land border or ferry from Canada or Mexico will need to show proof that they are fully vaccinated.

The official policy has not yet been released, and it is expected that there will be certain exceptions, such as for children who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. There are approximately 33 countries that will now be allowed such as Brazil, China, India, Iran, and the Schengen Area countries in Europe, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The acceptable vaccines include the following:

  • FDA-Authorized/Approved: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen, and Pfizer-BioNTech
  • WHO-Approved: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen, and Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Oxford-AstraZeneca/Covishield, Sinopharm and Sinovac

If you are a nurse currently working with WorldWide HealthStaff Solutions and have additional questions regarding the lifting of the COVID-19 travel bans, please contact your Case Manager.

Read More: Immigrants Required to Have Covid-19 Vaccine Starting October 1