Fully vaccinated Americans cleared to travel without tests or quarantine periods — CDC
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Apr 3, 2021
According to new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fully vaccinated Americans can travel both domestically and internationally "at low risk to themselves" provided they are taking precautions including wearing a mask, physical distancing, and washing hands often.
Worldwide travelers who've been vaccinated also don't need to take a COVID test before heading overseas, unless their destination country requires one, or self-quarantine upon arriving back in the US.
In its updated guidance, the agency still "recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated, because travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19".
The CDC's tweets this week are based on already existing CDC guidance for fully vaccinated individuals - meaning it's been two weeks since they received their second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or it's been two weeks since they received the single dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. They should self-quarantine for seven to ten days if they don't get tested.
CDC defines "fully vaccinated" as at least 2 weeks after receiving the last recommended dose of an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine.
With cases rising in some parts of the country and across the globe, the CDC "is not recommending travel at this time", said agency director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. "We continue to encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as it's their turn, so we can begin to safely take steps back to our everyday lives".
"Some are starting to make exceptions for those who are vaccinated. As of March 26, fully vaccinated Americans who can present proof of vaccination can visit Iceland, for example, and avoid border measures such as testing and quarantining, the country's government said", according to the report. Transportation Safety Administration's numbers show more than 1 million passengers have passed through airport security almost every day in March.
