The US opens its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers

In August, the US government announced its plans to eventually start allowing travelers into the country after closing its borders to most of the world early on in the pandemic. 

At the time, the government didn’t specify an exact date. However, in a statement published in Bloomberg, The White House has confirmed that travel restrictions will be eased for fully vaccinated travelers from November 8th. 

This includes all of the previously banned countries, including the European Union, as well as all countries that have a land border with Canada or Mexico. 

A White House assistant press secretaryTwitter post said, “This announcement and date applies to both international air travel and land travel. This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent.” 

This follows the announcement that some restrictions to the UK would be relaxed last month, which resulted in a surge in flight bookings. At this time, the administration also hinted that the changes could be extended to other countries soon. 

At the time, the administration said fully vaccinated foreign nationals would be able to travel from “early November”, although many flights are still being canceled due to a lack of clarity over the exact rules. 

This latest news has been welcomed, particularly by the travel industry. Earlier in the year, members of the industry requested that the CDC change its guidelines, claiming that stopping fully vaccinated people from traveling was unreasonable and damaging the industry. 

In addition to this, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the travel restrictions were putting many air travelers off. 

According to a survey carried out by the group, nearly 70% of respondents felt that borders should be opened up now. This is 12% higher than a previous survey in June. 

This is also good news for the US economy. Since the start of the pandemic, it’s estimated that $250 billion in export income and a million US jobs have been lost.