The United States is launching a new system where travelers who are noncitizens and nonimmigrants will need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination before departure for the country. But there are exemptions included for people from countries with limited access to the vaccines.
Sign up for Devex CheckUp
The must-read weekly newsletter for exclusive global health news and insider insights.
Less than 10%: The U.S. has had travel restrictions in place since early last year aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
While there are “very limited” exemptions within the new travel vaccination program, one of those includes “countries with less than a 10% total vaccination rate due to lack of availability of vaccines,” according to a White House senior administration official, during a press briefing on Monday.
“We fully are aware that the global distribution and availability of vaccines varies widely, and so there will be exemptions specifically for countries that have insufficient vaccines to have persons fully vaccinated,” the official said.
Moderna to supply the African Union with 110 million COVID-19 vaccines
Moderna has resisted attempts to share the know-how on how to produce its vaccines despite widespread vaccine inequity. Are these doses "too little, too late"?
“And then even in the low vaccine availability countries, people will also need to have a compelling reason to come here. So, it’s just not they're coming here for any reason; they need to have a specific, compelling reason. So, tourist visas will not qualify for that,” the official added.
The government will use the World Health Organization’s list on the percentage levels of populations fully vaccinated, by country. Those falling under 10% are currently about 50 countries, according to the official.
Failure to deliver: Most low- and middle-income countries have struggled to secure COVID-19 vaccine doses as high income countries hoard the doses and also fail to deliver the vaccines they’ve pledged to donate quickly. G-20 members have pledged over 1.2 billion doses to COVAX — the international vaccine-sharing initiative — but have delivered only 150 million.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
