U.S. to require COVID vaccination on arrival for some
foreign nationals with exemptions, memo says
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[September 21, 2021]
By Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Under new U.S.
rules, foreign nationals admitted to the United States on humanitarian
grounds, who are not required to have COVID-19 vaccinations, will have
to agree to be vaccinated upon arrival, according to a planning document
seen by Reuters. |
A day after U.S. forces completed its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan,
Afghan refugees walk to board a bus taking them to a processing center
upon their arrival at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia,
U.S., September 1, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque |
|
The
White House on Monday said it would lift restrictions that bar
many non-U.S. citizens from traveling to the United States by
air starting in November. The United States will require nearly
all foreign nationals age 12 and over to show proof of COVID-19
vaccines before entering the country.
Exemptions to that policy will include "children, COVID-19
vaccine clinical trial participants and humanitarian exceptions
for people traveling for an important reason and who lack access
to vaccination in a timely manner," the planning document said.
Most people who receive those "very limited" exemptions would be
required to agree to get vaccinated upon arrival, the document
said. It was not immediately clear how or where vaccines would
be administered or if the travelers would have to quarantine
while waiting for their immunity to build.
A White House official said the administration is still working
on the rules that will govern exemptions and added those
traveling under humanitarian exemptions "will also need a
compelling reason to come to the (United States)."
"To the extent there are people fleeing sort of exigent
circumstances, violent conflict ... that is something we'll
consider" when granting a humanitarian exemption, a White House
official said.
The document said the Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Aviation Administration and State Department will work "to
develop the directives and processes for implementing these
changes via the boarding process with airlines and through
consular affairs offices."
An administration official said policies about religious
exemptions will be decided during that process.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Shepardson; Editing by
Heather Timmons and Cynthia Osterman)
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