The White House has announced that the US has removed the Covid vaccine mandate for all its international travelers, even as the country ends its Covid emergency. “While vaccination remains one of the most important tools for advancing the health and safety of employees and promoting the efficiency of workplaces,” the White House said, “we are now at a different stage of our response when these measures are no longer necessary.” Are. ,
While the coronavirus test requirement was removed in June last year, the vaccination policy for foreign travelers was not removed. In February, the House of Representatives voted to expire the last remaining pandemic restrictions on May 11.
President Biden said in the proclamation published on May 1, “As we continue to monitor the evolving situation of Covid-19 and the emergence of virus variants, we have the tools to detect and respond to the potential emergence of high-consequence ” ,
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“Given the progress we have made and based on the latest guidance from our public health experts, I have determined that we do not need the international air travel restrictions imposed in October 2021,” he said.
During the pandemic, the US was closed to all international travelers for 18 months. While restrictions were eased in November 2021, overseas travelers were still required to get vaccinated and undergo a coronavirus test within three days of travel.
The new rules are part of the Biden administration’s decision to end the state of emergency on May 11, while the country’s Covid deaths and hospitalizations are at their lowest levels since March 2020.