Note

October 10, 21 - 8:37 am - Reuters

US to accept foreign entry with WHO-approved Covid vaccines

The United States will accept international visitors vaccinated with Covid-19 immunizers authorized by the US regulators or the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Friday.

In September 20th, the White House announced that the US will suspend in November the restrictions to visitors from 33 countries, including Brazil, China, India and most of Europe, who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 without specifying which vaccines.

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

The CDC said that “earlier this week, to help them prepare their systems, we informed the airlines” about the vaccines that would be accepted, and added: “The CDC will release additional guidance and information once the travel requirements are finalized.”

Some countries pressured the Biden government to accept WHO-approved vaccines, as US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized vaccines are not widely used in all countries.

All four immunizers being applied in Brazil and currently approved by the WHO are: CoronaVac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Janssen.

However, is still no clear the decision for those who were vaccinated with Sputinik V (from Russsia). Sputnik V was used in Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Venezuela.

On Friday, a spokesman from WHO said the agency was “close” to clear the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, but it has not a date for possible approval for emergency use.

(Translated by LABS)