US To Open Borders For Vaccinated Travelers On Nov 8

The White House announced Friday that vaccinated foreign nationals can travel to the U.S. starting Nov. 8.

Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz commented on the Reuters breaking news on Twitter. He wrote “the US’ new travel policy that requires vaccination for foreign national travelers to the United States will begin on Nov 8. This announcement and date applies to both international air travel and land travel. This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent.”

In August, European leaders expressed their frustrations that travel restrictions were still in place even though 70% of EU citizens were vaccinated at the time. This included the EU ambassador, Stravros Lambrinidis , French ambassador Philippe Etienne, and Irish ambassador Daniel Mulhall, among others.

According to CNN, a White House official said there will only be "very limited exceptions" to requirements. All information regarding which COVID vaccines are acceptable for entry and further operational details will be released before Nov. 8.

For now, the official told CNN “CDC has already informed airlines that all FDA approved and authorized vaccines, as well as all vaccines that have an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the WHO will be accepted for air travel. We anticipate the same will be true at the land border.”

The official also indicated to CNN that travelers must indicate and provide proof of vaccination status, which is required upon request by Customs and Border Protection officers.

“By January, foreign nationals traveling across the land border for both essential and non-essential reasons will be required to be fully vaccinated,” the official told CNN. This may contradict the initial Nov. 8 announcement. More details surrounding the implementation of the processes and procedures along with further guidance will be released by the administration soon.