Will it be the end of vaccine tourism for the United States?

the Possibility of requiring the United States to fully vaccinate all foreigners It was revealed by a White House official to Reuters last week. This would mean a drastic change In the position held by Joe Biden’s government so far, and It will have consequences such as the end of vaccine tourism from Latin America to the United States, a trend that has allowed the reactivation of air routes and the operations of sending agencies, as well as the provision of travelers and foreign currency to American destinations.

But a White House official said last week that the United States wants to reopen its doors to foreigners “in a safe and sustainable way.”

The source told Reuters that the opening would be phased, with limited exceptions, for all foreigners to be “fully immunized.”

Miami Vaccination Center. Photo: Wlrn

The United States is under pressure from the European Union and the United Kingdom, which has opened its borders to immunized Americans, and is waiting for a reciprocal gesture from the Biden government.

Although the US decision has been postponed – on July 26 it was announced that there will be no changes to the current restrictions – the latest release is the anonymous whistleblower edition that has made headlines around the world.

The data cited was brief, and there was no exact date or origin. Textually, it is interpreted that all international travelers must have a full vaccination schedule to travel to the United States, which is not required today and allows travel without vaccination from many countries, including all Latin American countries except Brazil.

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The official said the Biden administration has interagency working groups working “to get a new system ready when we can reopen flights,” adding that this includes “A phased approach ultimately means, with limited exceptions, that foreigners traveling to the United States (from all countries) need to be fully vaccinated.”Reuters reported on August 4.

It has not been determined whether this refers only to the new requirements for those who are currently prohibited from entering the country, including travelers from European Union countries.

The United States has imposed access restrictions on people from the European Union, Great Britain, China and Iran for more than a year due to the pandemic. He added to those native countries later, including Brazil and India.

Donald Trump tried to ease conditions on European countries in January, but Biden restored the restrictions before they were lifted.

Many critics of the restrictions say they no longer make sense because some countries with high rates of COVID-19 are not on the restricted list, while some on the list have the epidemic under control.

And the tourism vaccine?

Going back to the White House informant’s statement, if vaccination begins to be required for all arrivals to the United States, the flow of travelers the country receives with its policy of offering free vaccines to foreigners will be cut off by the day.

The possibility of obtaining the vaccination in the United States in recent months has been an opportunity for airlines and broadcasting agencies in several Latin American countries –Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Mexico are among the largest markets– and the very destinations that promoted this practice, such as New York, Florida, California or Texas.

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The possibility of continuing to receive tourism from these countries, with low vaccination rates compared to Europeans, will be very limited.

Reuters said the Biden administration also spoke with US airlines in recent weeks about creating international contact tracing for passengers before the travel restrictions were lifted.

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