The United States announced on Monday the guidelines that will mark its opening of air borders to travelers vaccinated against covid-19 as of November 8, and confirmed that it will exceptions for children and for some citizens of some 50 countries with insufficient access to vaccines.
The Government also clarified that foreign travelers who are vaccinated with the complete schedule and want to fly to the United States will have to have undergone a covid-19 test in the three days prior to the trip, and show the result when boarding, along with your proof of vaccination.
US citizens and permanent residents who are not vaccinated must present a negative result of a covid-19 test that will have to have been administered one day before the trip, that is, they will have less flexibility than those vaccinated to take that test.
"If you are fully vaccinated, you will have the possibility of taking the test three days before; while for the unvaccinated, this negative test must have been done immediately before" of the flight, explained a US official, who requested anonymity, in a telephone press conference.
Foreigners who are not permanent residents in the United States and are not vaccinated may not enter the country, with some "very limited exceptions", they recall the guidelines published by the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
THE EXCEPTIONS
Those exceptions include those under the age of 18, who in many cases have not yet received authorization to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Those who have between 2 and 17 years old will have to undergo a test three days before the trip -if they are accompanied by a vaccinated adult- or the day before -if they fly alone or with unvaccinated adults-, the White House stressed in a statement.
They will also be exempt from the vaccination requirement "some participants in clinical trials of covid-19 vaccines, and those who need to travel for emergency or humanitarian reasons", as long as they carry "a letter issued by the United States Government" that accredits that need, says the note.
What’s more, Travelers traveling on non-tourist visas from countries are exempt "with very low vaccine availability"he adds. Specifically, they are "about 50 countries" where "the total vaccination rate is less than 10%", said the aforementioned US official.
The White House did not immediately provide that list, but, according to official data from different governments compiled by the Our World in Data portal, most of these countries are African, although there are also Nicaragua, Haiti, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
Those who arrive from these countries and intend to stay in the United States for more than 60 days must agree to be vaccinated in the North American country, with "very limited exceptions", stressed the White House.
The CDC has yet to clarify the guidelines for non-essential travelers entering the United States by land from the borders with Mexico and Canada, which will also resume on November 8, but exceptions are expected to be "Similar" to those established for air traffic, said the aforementioned official.
The vaccines that will be accepted for air entry into the US will be those that have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), which so far are those from Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen (from Johnson & Johnson), two versions of the AstraZeneca serum, and those from Sinopharm and Sinovac. Travelers immunized with a combination of those vaccines will be allowed in, the CDC said this month.
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