At a time when the United States is detecting more cases of infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus, its authorities have decided to modify the entry requirements for travelers.
In this sense, as of Monday, December 6, all travelers over 2 years of age will be required to have a negative result of a COVID-19 viral test (antigens or PCR) taken 1 day before boarding their flight to enter North American territory. Travelers will also be required to confirm in the form of an affidavit that the information they submit is true.
It is recalled that in addition to the negative test, foreign travelers must be with the complete vaccination schedule and provide documentation of the vaccination status before boarding the plane.
Only someone is considered fully vaccinated in the following cases:
-2 weeks (14 days) after receiving the dose of an accepted single dose vaccine.
-2 weeks (14 days) after receiving the second dose of an accepted 2-dose vaccine.
-2 weeks (14 days) after completing the vaccination schedule with an accepted COVID-19 vaccine (not placebo) in a clinical trial.
-2 weeks (14 days) after completing the vaccination schedule with a COVID-19 Novavax (or Covavax) vaccine (not placebo) in a phase 3 clinical trial.
-2 weeks (14 days) after receiving 2 doses of any combination of accepted COVID-19 vaccines that have been administered at an interval of at least 17 days.
If you do not meet these requirements, the authorities consider that the passenger does not have a complete vaccination. Even if you have had COVID and only received one dose of the 2-dose vaccines, it is not considered a complete schedule in the United States.
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The exceptions to this policy are: minors under 18 years of age; people who, by medical prescription, cannot receive the vaccine and emergency travelers who do not have access to the vaccine.
Foreign travelers who have been to one of the 33 previously restricted countries will no longer need to obtain National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) to travel.
Accepted vaccines will include those approved or authorized by the FDA, as well as vaccines with a World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use List (EUL).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) do not recommend the use of a combination of COVID-19 vaccines in the main schedule. However, these strategies are becoming more prevalent in many countries outside of the United States. Therefore, for the purpose of interpreting vaccination records for travel to the United States, the accepted COVID-19 vaccine combinations will be considered valid by the CDC.
Regarding the tests, those travelers who have the complete vaccination schedule must also show a negative test carried out no later than 1 day before the trip. That includes all travelers: US citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals.
Unvaccinated travelers, whether they are US citizens, lawful permanent residents, or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals, will need to show documentation of a negative test taken no later than one day prior to travel.
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