The US House of Representatives is due to vote later this week on whether to remove the requirement for foreign arrivals to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Just last month, the requirement was extended until April, but if the bill is approved, it could now be lifted much sooner.
In June 2022, the US Government removed the requirement for foreign travelers arriving by air to have tested negative for COVID-19. However, the vaccine requirement remained, and currently, all adult visitors to the US must show proof of vaccination before boarding their flight, with some limited exceptions. This does not apply to US citizens and permanent residents.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has not yet commented on the planned vote, although it has previously made clear that vaccines continue to be the most effective tool in the fight against COVID-19. Meanwhile, the US Travel Association said that it has "long supported the removal of this requirement and sees no reason to wait until the expiration of the public health emergency - particularly as potential visitors are planning spring and summer travel."
The current requirements
On its website, the CDC outlines the current requirements for international travelers entering the US. It says,
“Non-citizens who are non-immigrants and seeking to enter the United States by air are required to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States from a foreign country. If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you will NOT be allowed to board a flight to the United States, unless you meet the criteria for an exception under the Proclamation and CDC’s Amended Order. A booster dose is not needed to meet this requirement.”
Among the permitted exemptions are persons on diplomatic or official foreign government travel, children under 18 years of age, and persons with documented medical contraindications to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
How does this compare to other countries?
With the worst of the pandemic seemingly behind us, the US is one of the few countries worldwide to still require international arrivals to be vaccinated. Nations that have made recent changes to their policies include India, which dropped its vaccine requirement at the end of last year, and Thailand, where in January 2023, a vaccine requirement for arriving foreign travelers was announced but then removed again within the space of a week.
The US Travel Association says that the vaccine requirement should be removed as “there is no longer any public health justification." However, some may argue that this is not strictly true, given that in December 2022, the US, along with several other countries, including the UK and Spain, reintroduced travel restrictions for most arrivals from China, following a surge in cases there.
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Any travel restrictions in the US naturally affect US airlines the most, but they also impact international carriers with a significant presence in the country, such as British Airways and Air France. If the bill is passed and the vaccine requirement subsequently removed, airlines worldwide will likely welcome the news and will hope to see an increase in bookings to the US from those previously unable to enter.
Do you think the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for international travelers to the US should be removed? Share your thoughts by commenting below.