The decision, announced by White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients, marked an abrupt about-face for President Joe Biden's administration, which last week said it was not the right time to lift any restrictions. The restrictions had prevented tens of thousands of foreign nationals from flying to the United States to see family members and slashed business travel.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the announcement "a fantastic boost for business and trade, and great that family and friends on both sides of the pond can be reunited once again." Airlines for America, an industry trade group, said that through late August, international air travel was down 43% from pre-pandemic levels.
There will be some exceptions to the vaccine policy, officials said, including for children not yet eligible to be vaccinated. The new rules do not yet apply to travelers crossing land borders with Mexico and Canada. Critics have said travel restrictions no longer make sense because some countries with high COVID-19 rates are not on the restricted list while some countries on the list have the pandemic under control.
Zients said on Sept. 15 that given the rise of the Delta variant, it was not the right time to lift any travel restrictions. Asked on Monday what changed since then, Zients cited rising global vaccinations, adding: "The new system allows us to implement strict protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
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Why would they want to come here? While the White House announced it will allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to travel to the US by air, it has not revealed when land border restrictions will ease. Why are we allowing Americans(one of the worst vaccinated countries) in to Canada if we are not allowed in to the US? This travel ban is is ridiculous,
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NPR Cookie Consent and ChoicesSo they can come here and catch it? If they’ve tested negative…why do they need to also be vaccinated🤦♂️ Finally!
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