When it updated its travel policy, the United States announced that it would accept travelers who have had mixed-and-match vaccine doses. New policy stipulates that all international adults must be fully inoculated against COVID-19 prior to traveling. Here are some things you should know about the accepted vaccines and how you can present proof of vaccination before you travel to the USA.
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Before boarding Getty Images/iStockphoto, travelers will need to show their proof of vaccination.
COVID-19 vaccines can be mixed and matched
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced that it will begin accepting mix-and-match COVID-19 doses of international travelers starting November 8. Mix-and-match vaccines are jabs in which the second or third dose a patient receives is from another manufacturer than the previous dose. A patient may have had an AstraZeneca shot as their first shot, and then received a Moderna shot as their second shot. This is a very common practice in Canada, and other countries. However, it's not as prevalent in the US.
A spokeswoman for CDC confirmed that "CDC has not recommended mixing different vaccine types in a primary sequence, but we recognize this is becoming increasingly common in other nations so should be accepted to the interpretation of vaccine records."
Accepted vaccines for travel to the USA
Joe Biden, the US president, confirmed Monday that any vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration or listed by World Health Organization (WHO), for emergency use, will suffice for travel. These vaccines include Pfizer and Moderna, AstraZeneca. Covishield. Sinopharm. Sinovac, and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson jab.
Are you vaccinated outside of the U.S. You are considered fully vaccinated if youre vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine, or any combination of 2 doses FDA-approved/authorized vaccines or WHO emergency use COVID-19 vaccines. Get more details: https://t.co/c77NSS286y. pic.twitter.com/7ofy0jbbLr CDC (@CDCgov) October 27, 2021
How do you show proof of vaccination?
Before boarding a flight to the USA, all adult international travelers must present proof of vaccination. According to the White House, an official certificate of vaccination issued by a government agency or public health will suffice. For most Europeans, this will be their EU digital COVID certificate; for Canadians, it's the Canadian CoVID-19 proof that they have vaccinated; and for Mexicans, it's an official Mexican immunization certificate.
At the border, travelers who are crossing into the US via land must also show their vaccine certificates starting November 8.
The USA: Introduction
How to tell if you are fully vaccinated
For travel to the USA, you must be fully vaccinated at least two weeks after receiving your second dose of an approved vaccine. If you have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it will take two weeks.
Two weeks must have passed if you were given a booster shot (a third dosage).
There are exceptions
