The Biden Administration is taking steps to develop a plan that will require nearly all foreign visitors to the United States to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a White House official. Reuters was the first to report plans to develop a vaccine requirement by foreign travelers to the U.S.
This will be part of a plan eventually lifting travel restrictions that bar much of the world from entering the United States. The plan is in the works now so the U.S. will be ready when a decision and plan to reopen is decided, though current travel restrictions remain in place due to concerns about the Delta variant.
The Biden Administration has kept in place travel restrictions that have severely curtailed international trips to the U.S., citing the spread of the Delta variant of the virus. The restrictions in effect now are, non-U.S. residents who have been to China, the European Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India in the prior 14 days are prohibited from entering the United States.
No timeline has yet been determined, as interagency working groups study to have a new system ready for when reopening can be done safely and move toward resuming normal travel. With limited exceptions, the phased in approach over a timeline will mean all foreign citizens entering the country are expected to need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the U.S.
The White House wants to re-open travel, which would boost business for the airlines and the tourism industry, but feel they need a safe plan before they are ready to lift restrictions, due to the rising COVID-19 case load and highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant, according to a White House official.
