NEWS
Mixed vaccine doses OK according to England’s new travel policy
U.S. plans to ease travel restrictions for fully vaccinated int’l travellers WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. says it plans to ease travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals starting in November. All international travellers flying to the U.S. will need to demonstrate proof of vaccination before boarding, as well as proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of flight. Fully vaccinated passengers will not be required to quarantine. The U.S. will also require airlines to collect contact information from international travellers to facilitate contact tracing. The U.S. side of the Canada-U.S. land border has been closed since March 2020. Canada reopened its side to fully vaccinated American travellers on Aug. 9. Canada then reopened to all fully vaccinated international travellers on Sept. 7. Canada’s advisory against all non-essential travel is still in place. The U.S. has also again extended its land border closure with Canada until Oct. 21. If the U.S. reopens its land border with Canada this November, as part of its eased restrictions, the big question for many Canadians looking to travel to the U.S. in the coming months will be whether or not the U.S. will update its
stance to accept the AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as mixed doses. Close to 2 million Canadians received the AstraZeneca vaccine, and almost 4 million Canadians have mixed dose vaccinations. Both IATA and the WTTC expressed support for the Biden administration’s decision to begin reopening the U.S. to fully vaccinated travellers. The announcement “is a major step forward,” says IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh. “Allowing access to the U.S. for those vaccinated will open travel to the U.S. for many who have been locked out for the past 18 months. This is excellent news for families and loved ones who have suffered through the heartache and loneliness of separation. It’s good for the millions of livelihoods in the US that depend on global tourism. And it will boost the economic recovery by enabling some key business travel markets.” And Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The U.S. lifting travel restrictions to restore transatlantic travel between the EU and the UK is welcome news - not only for hard-pressed airlines, but for the wider travel and tourism sector, which has been decimated by COVID-19. Simpson added that the WTTC “strongly advocates for fully vaccinated citizens to be able to travel freely and safely, irrespective of where they’re travelling from.”
TORONTO — The UK’s decision to ditch its traffic light system of COVID-19 travel policies in favour of more streamlined protocols includes good news for Canadians with mixed vaccine doses. While so far only relevant for travel to / from England, the new policies taking effect Oct. 4, 2021 include a thumbs-up for travellers fully vaccinated (at least 14 days prior to departure) with a full course of Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines, from a relevant public health body in a long list of countries, including Canada. “Mixing between two-dose vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna) in this list is also recognized,” according to the new policy. Existing approval for fully vaccinated travellers under an approved vaccination program in the UK, Europe and the U.S. is also in place. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the simplified system for international travel last Friday. Starting Oct. 4, 2021 the current Traffic Light System of red, amber, green will be replaced by a new two-tiered system - a single ‘red list’ of countries and territories and a ‘rest of the world’ list. Plus, testing requirements are being reduced for eligible fully vaccinated travellers from non-red list countries, who will no longer need to take a Pre Departure Test when travelling to England. For now international arrivals into England must still book and pay for a day 2 COVID test, to be taken after arrival in England; complete their passenger locator form any time in the 48 hours before arriving in England; and take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after arriving in England. However starting at the end of October 2021, eligible fully vaccinated passengers (and those with an approved vaccine from a select group of non-red countries) will be able to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test, reducing the cost of tests on arrival into England. Also starting in late October, changes are being made to allow passengers who change flights or international September 23, 2021 | TRAVELWEEK | 9
