Planning US visit from Nov 8? Be fully jabbed against Covid

Planning US visit from Nov 8? Be fully jabbed against Covid

Must Be Inoculated With WHO-Approved Vax & Carry Report Of Covid Test Done Within 72 Hrs Of Departure

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

27.10.2021

Come November 8 and foreign travellers who are fully vaccinated with WHO-approved jabs and have a negative Covid report from a test taken within 72 hours of departure can enter the US. For travellers from India, it means the lifting of restrictions imposed on May 4 at the height of India’s second Covid wave. The existing country-bycountry restrictions will be replaced by a consistent approach worldwide under the new international air travel policy that will be effective from November 8, the US department of state said.

For the purpose of allowing entry, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has accepted vaccines that are FDA approved or authorised and those with an emergency use listing from the WHO. So, the wait for those who got Covaxin continues. “Both US citizens and foreign nationals who are fully vaccinated should travel with proof of their vaccination status to provide to their airline prior to departure to the US. That proof of vaccination should be a paper or digital record issued by an official source and should include the traveller’s name and date of birth, as well as the vaccine product and date(s) of administration for all doses the traveller received,” the state department website said. “The entry into US by air travel of non-citizens who are non-immigrants and who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is suspended and limited (with some exceptions),” a presidential proclamation said.

Children under 18 are excepted from the vaccination requirement for foreign national travellers. Those between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure test. If travelling with a fully vaccinated adult, an unvaccinated child can test three days prior to departure. An unvaccinated child travelling alone or with unvaccinated adults, will have to test within one day of departure, the White House said in a fact sheet. Air passengers will have to certify the validity of vaccination and testing, and confirm that their contact information is complete and accurate. Falsifying any information could result in criminal penalties and/or fines.

The new system incorporates a contact tracing order to respond to Covid variants. “The order requires that airlines collect contact information for all international inbound travellers to the US – including full name, as well as a phone number, email and address at which they can be reached while staying in the US. Airlines will have to keep this information on hand and promptly turn it over to the CDC when requested,” the state department website said. Fully vaccinated air travellers will continue to be required to show documentation of a pre-departure negative viral test from a sample taken within three days of travel to the US before boarding. This condition applies to all travellers, whether US citizens, lawful permanent residents, or foreign nationals. “To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travellers – whether US citizens, LPRs, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to show documentation of a negative viral test from a sample taken within one day of travel to the US,” it added.

The White House confirmed that children under 18 are exempt from the new vaccine requirements as are people with some medical issues. Those between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure test

Chinese city of 4m under lockdown

China placed a city of four million people under lockdown on Tuesday, ordering them not to leave home except in emergencies, in a bid to eradicate a Covid cluster of just a few dozen cases. The fresh restrictions came as China reported 29 new domestic infections, including six in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province in the country’s northwest. The latest outbreak has been linked to the highly contagious Delta variant, with the tally hitting 198 cases since October 17. Thirty-nine have been in Lanzhou. While the rest of the world opens up and tries to find ways to live with the virus, China has maintained a zero-Covid approach. In Beijing — which reported three new cases Tuesday — access to tourist sites has been limited. Mass testing is under way in 11 provinces. AFP

FDA advisers weigh Pfizer jab for kids

An expert panel will weigh authorisation of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine for US children aged 5 to 11 on Tuesday as it prepares to vote on a recommendation for the FDA. An authorisation is an important regulatory step toward reaching about 28 million children of these ages, most of them back in school for in-person learning. The FDA need not follow the advice, but usually does. The dose for younger children would be one-third of the strength given to people 12 and older, with two shots given three weeks apart. Only a few other nations, including China, Cuba and UAE, have cleared vaccines for this age group. AP