Pressure mounts on Biden to drop vaccination requirement for incoming travelers
Editor's Note
As the United States remains among the few countries requiring incoming foreign travelers to present proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to enter the country, pressure continues to mount to drop this requirement.
Recent calls from both the U.S. Travel Association and the U.S. House of Representatives may influence the Biden administration's decision to uphold current regulations through spring.
Since November 2021, the White House has enforced the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's policy restricting entry to noncitizens to travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, specifically with vaccines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or authorized by the World Health Organization.
The administration extended this mandate in April 2022. Still, industry and government groups are pushing the president to drop it ahead of the official end of the COVID-19 public health emergency in May.
While the U.S. Travel Association has publicly supported limiting the testing approach to restart inbound travel from China, it sees no public health justification for a wider policy for all inbound air travel.
"Hopefully, the President's announcement of the end of emergency measures in May means that this policy will be terminated, but why wait until May?" said Geoff Freeman, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. "Every day this policy is in place encourages some travelers to go to other markets and puts America at a competitive disadvantage."
Simultaneously, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced a bill to rescind the vaccine requirement, which advanced through the House earlier this week.
"We appreciate the bipartisan action by the U.S. House to end this outdated policy. U.S. Travel also sees no reason to uphold the requirement until May—particularly as visitors from around the world plan spring and summer travel," the U.S. Travel Association said in a statement on Feb. 8. "The U.S. is the only country that has maintained this policy, putting at risk valuable visitor spending the longer it remains in place. We...urge the Senate to pass this bill to normalize travel conditions and boost international arrivals as quickly as possible."
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