A plan which intends to make it mandatory for incoming travellers to be vaccinated the Coronavirus in order to be eligible to enter the territory of the United States is underway, White House sources have confirmed for Reuters on Wednesday, August 6.
The plan is currently in the very first phases of development, and according to the same source, it will include “a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals travelling to the United States (from all countries) need to be fully vaccinated.”
While imposing such a requirement means more people will be unable to travel to the US from countries like Canada and Australia, for residents of the Schengen Area countries and the United Kingdom, it means that finally travelling to the US will be possible for the majority of them.
Such statements come at a time when the US has been facing lots of criticism regarding the entry ban on travellers from the Schengen Area, the UK and Ireland, which has been in place since the end of winter last year.
Only this week, SchengenVisaInfo.com has reported that the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is among those who have criticized the entry ban on travellers from the EU, stating that the EU and US are both in the same COVID-19 situation.
Previously, sources within the White House had confirmed that the US authorities were not planning to lift the entry ban for the Schengen countries due to the concerns raised from the spread of the Delta variant in Europe.
However, the idea of imposing the requirement of vaccination for incoming travellers has not been welcomed by everyone.
The US Travel Association has reacted to the news, calling the plan a “step back” if it becomes a reality. The same Association for months now has continuously demanded the reopening of the borders for countries worldwide.
“While vaccinations are a crucial tool to allow us to reopen to 212(f) countries, it would be a step back to replace the current testing requirement with a vaccine requirement for all other countries,” the Association’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes said regarding the news.
The Association has urged the government to set a reopening date as soon as possible, as other world countries are also moving towards the reopening of their borders, citing as an example the EU Member States and Canada.
Data published by the World Health Organization show that the US has so far reported a total of 35,125,227 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, 114,820 of which within the last 24 hours.
On the other hand, as of August 5, 34,919,952 cases have been reported in the EU/EEA by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Originally Appeared On: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/us-may-soon-permit-entry-for-vaccinated-eu-uk-citizens-sources-say/