FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do the new rules affect people from banned countries?
Individuals from these countries can fly to the United States (or drive, if coming from Mexico or Canada) as they did before the pandemic, provided they can show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test.
The CDC will also issue an order directing airlines to collect phone numbers and email addresses of travelers for a new contact-tracing system. Additional details of the contact-tracing system have not yet been outlined. Unvaccinated people who are not American citizens will not be permitted to enter the United States.
Which vaccines will be accepted?
The United States will accept vaccines that are FDA approved or authorized and World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listed (EUL) vaccines. This includes Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer-BioNTech, two versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Sinopharm and Sinovac.
Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is not currently on the accepted list, meaning many Russian participants and others inoculated with Sputnik V may currently be prohibited from entering the United States. We will continue to monitor CDC guidance and travel requirements for updates.
What does fully vaccinated mean?
According to the CDC, people are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. “Mix and match” vaccines, an inoculation strategy involving a first dose of one vaccine and a second dose of a different vaccine, will be accepted as long as each dose involved is an accepted vaccine.
What kinds of tests meet the testing requirement?
Travelers must show documentation of a negative viral COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 within the past 90 days before boarding a plane to the United States (or before boarding the first flight in a series of connections booked on the same itinerary to the United States).
Both nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), such as a PCR test, and antigen tests qualify.
A self-test can be used if it meets the requirements of the order including real-time proctoring by a telehealth service affiliated with the manufacturer of the test and that generates a test result that can be reviewed by the airline before boarding.
This is the same standard for qualifying tests that has applied to the pre-departure testing requirement since January.
More information on the types of viral tests is available here.
How do the new rules affect people from countries that were not on the banned list?
The new policy applies to everyone who is not a U.S. citizen, including individuals from countries whose citizens have been able to fly to the United States throughout the pandemic. Although vaccination status does not currently affect whether or not these individuals can enter the United States, in November only fully vaccinated travelers will be permitted.
These individuals are already required to show proof of a negative coronavirus test, taken within three days of boarding a flight. This requirement will remain.
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