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James48

(4,416 posts)
Fri Oct 8, 2021, 11:52 PM Oct 2021

U.S. will accept WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines for international visitors

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The United States will accept the use by international visitors of COVID-19 vaccines authorized by U.S. regulators or the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late on Friday.

On Sept. 20, the White House announced the United States in November would lift travel restrictions on air travelers from 33 countries including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It did not specify then which vaccines would be accepted.

A CDC spokeswoman told Reuters Friday, "Six vaccines that are FDA authorized/approved or listed for emergency use by WHO will meet the criteria for travel to the U.S."

Late on Friday, the CDC said that "earlier this week, to help them prepare their systems we informed airlines" of the vaccines that would be accepted and added "CDC will release additional guidance and information as the travel requirements are finalized."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-will-accept-who-approved-covid-19-vaccines-international-visitors-2021-10-08/



Looks like Europeans with AstraZeneca Oxford or the Chinese Sinopharm jabs will be allowed in the USA shortly. If it has WHO acceptance, we'll soon recognize it too, says the CDC. Regulations not yet published- but will be soon.

More details at the link.
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Fiendish Thingy

(15,367 posts)
1. No clarity on the status of people who have received doses of two different vaccines
Sat Oct 9, 2021, 12:26 AM
Oct 2021

As has been done in Canada.

BumRushDaShow

(127,297 posts)
2. I don't think that will or should be an issue
Sat Oct 9, 2021, 05:57 AM
Oct 2021

as the U.S. is trialing mix/match (in fact, doing a quick search, I found an update on where they are with it, so thanks for the reminder for me to check that ) -

Fauci says data from NIH’s mix-and-match Covid vaccine booster trials will soon be ready

Published Tue, Sep 28 20213:04 PM EDT Updated Tue, Sep 28 20218:33 PM EDT
Robert Towey
@RobertToweyCNBC

The National Institutes of Health is on the verge of concluding trials that mix initial vaccine doses from one manufacturer with booster shots from another manufacturer, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. Data on J&J’s mix-and-match study could be ready within a week, while Pfizer’s trial might be completed by mid-October, he said. Moderna’s mix-and-match study data is already available. Though the CDC authorized Pfizer’s booster for seniors and the medically vulnerable Friday, only recipients of Pfizer’s first two doses are eligible for the third shot.

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that safety and efficacy data on pairing a primary regimen of Covid vaccines from one manufacturer with boosters from another could be available within the next two weeks. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized Pfizer’s booster for seniors and the medically vulnerable Friday, only recipients of Pfizer’s first two doses are eligible for the third shot. But the National Institutes of Health is on the verge of concluding trials that mixed boosters and initial doses from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, Fauci said at a White House Covid briefing.

“As with all things we do, they must be submitted to the FDA for their regulatory approval,” Fauci said of the so-called mix-and-match trials. “So you don’t want to get ahead of the FDA, but at least that’s where the data are right now.” Data on Johnson & Johnson’s mix-and-match study could be ready within a week, while Pfizer’s trial might be completed by mid-October. Moderna’s mix-and-match study data is already available, Fauci added.

Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines employ mRNA technology to combat Covid, while J&J’s uses an adenovirus to bolster the body’s immune response. The ability to mix and match vaccines and boosters could give vaccine recipients greater flexibility in picking a third shot to strengthen the waning immunity of their initial doses.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/28/fauci-says-data-from-nihs-mix-and-match-covid-vaccine-booster-trials-will-soon-be-ready.html


I think the bigger story is that since the world is using a variety of vaccines, then whichever ones are recognized by some international organization like W.H.O. as (essentially) "effective", should be accepted for world travel.

Until now, the biggest vaccine that generally has been "required" for travel to certain other countries is yellow fever (and smallpox to a degree although it is supposedly "eradicated" for the most part), and there are a number of different brands of that. The CDC has a part of their website dedicated to "travelers" -

https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dgmq/feature-stories/yellow-book-50.html
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/find-clinic
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-vaccines

I keep my "yellow booklet" with my passport. I just don't understand why here and other countries are trying to "re-invent the wheel" when there is already something that can be repurposed for this, revised to include recording of approved COVID-19 vaccines -



Apparently that form was originally created in the '30s and has been updated over the decades (from an article a year ago) -

9 Ways the Pandemic Will Change Travel in 2021


By Tariro Mzezewa, Ceylan Yeginsu, Elaine Glusac and Sarah Firshein
Published Dec. 22, 202 0Updated Jan. 12, 2021

(snip)

Will I need to prove I’ve been vaccinated to travel?

(snip)

It’s not known yet whether some kind of universal health form or certificate will be required to travel because that would require participation from various countries and organizations, but that’s happened before. The International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, known to many as the carte jaune or yellow card, was originally created in the mid 1930s by the World Health Organization. Versions were used as proof for vaccination against diseases including yellow fever, typhus and smallpox, and many countries still require proof of certain vaccinations when traveling. For those travelers who have relocated to foreign countries over the years, the possibility of sharing personal health information isn’t unusual, as many visa and residency applications call for medical exams.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/travel/flight-cancellations-cruise-ships-covid-vaccine.html


That form has been internationally accepted world-wide - notably for countries that require that travelers have certain vaccines before entering. Apparently (per the below pic from that article) Israel is using it just for that purpose -



(sorry to dump all this as a reply but am also thinking/ranting out loud )

Pachamama

(16,874 posts)
3. Every European has their yellow vaccine card with their passport & they can get a QR scan code
Sat Oct 9, 2021, 07:39 AM
Oct 2021

..on their smartphones that allow them to show it and be scanned when entering restaurants, museums, movie theaters etc…

I really don’t understand either why this isn’t be done in US…it’s very simple actually.

BumRushDaShow

(127,297 posts)
4. Exactly!
Sat Oct 9, 2021, 07:55 AM
Oct 2021

And I understand trying to "get with the modern times" and update things like this to have a "digital" version. But if you already have some type of "form" that has been around, is recognizable, and accepted by most of the world for almost a century, why not just "repurpose" it for COVID-19 vaccines.

I suppose having anything "online" can be an issue - the "REAL ID" has been an example of such a contentious, "centralized" mandate. But then the passports already are centrally tracked in a database and the newer ones have RF chips that can be scanned. My last "out of country" trip was in 2015 to the Bahamas and I experienced the use of that RF scanning of the passport for the first time (there were kiosks for the traveler to use to do the scanning).

Some RF chips are programmable and I expect one day, vaccine updates could be encoded in a passport along with the other data it has.

róisín_dubh

(11,784 posts)
5. I just arrived from Europe last night.
Mon Oct 11, 2021, 07:01 AM
Oct 2021

What was so, so weird was that when I went to the Global Entry kiosk, I didn't even have to scan my passport or fingerprints. They just did a photo and all my info came up.

I admit being a little weirded out by that, but whatever, I made it through immigration in 2 seconds.

BumRushDaShow

(127,297 posts)
6. Obviously there are more and more places using biometrics
Mon Oct 11, 2021, 07:17 AM
Oct 2021

Coming into the U.S. used to always take longer but I suppose that is becoming a thing of the past.

Was just looking to see what airports had that type of kiosk and found this - https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry/locations

And that is associated with the "Trusted Traveler" program so I know there were additional steps needed to get that designation. I remember first seeing that option when I was renewing my passport and opted to also get a passport card as an additional ID in case PA didn't have its REAL ID driver's license stuff up and running in time, and also when researching how they were doing Canadian border crossings before I went up to Niagara Falls (Canadian side) back in 2014.

róisín_dubh

(11,784 posts)
7. Global Entry has been worth every penny. I've been a "Trusted Traveler" since 2015.
Wed Oct 13, 2021, 05:40 AM
Oct 2021

I'm just surprised I didn't have to put in my passport. That's a first.

I've had problems using Global Entry driving into Canada. I thought US Border Patrol was rough. But the Canadians (and Brits) are worse.

BumRushDaShow

(127,297 posts)
8. I figured for all those who are cross-commuting regularly between the U.S. and Canada
Wed Oct 13, 2021, 05:53 AM
Oct 2021

it would be a no-brainer to be part of that program. Even those who are continually back and forth overseas - just being able to avoid the long TSA lines would make it worth it. But I suppose there are periods when there is "political tension" between countries, and that can precipitate that type of "enhanced" scrutiny.

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