Mandatory Covid jabs for travellers to US

Mandatory Covid jabs for travellers to US

BY TONNY ABET

The government of United States of America (USA) has announced that all travellers entering the country from November 8, will be required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to safeguard their public health.

A statement by Ned Price, the spokesperson for the Department of State, that this reporter got yesterday, all travellers going to the US will be asked to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to the country.

He, however, said some exceptions will be made for some people, especially those from countries that have been struggling to access vaccines.

“This policy prioritises public health, protecting U.S. citizens and residents as well as those who come to visit us.  Because it puts public health first, exceptions to this policy will be extremely limited:  including children under 18 and certain individuals in countries where vaccines are not yet readily accessible,” he said.

The US has so far lost 767,849 people to Covid-19 and over 46 million of its citizens have been infected since the outbreak of the disease in the country, according to statistics from worldometers.info. This makes the country one of the most hit by the pandemic.  

The directive comes at a time when authorities in many countries, Uganda inclusive, are introducing stringent internal measures such as restricting access to offices for unvaccinated workers and visitors to promote vaccination and restrain the pandemic. Some legal experts, however, say restricting unvaccinated people is a violation of right to access.

Mr Price said the guidelines also include new protocols around testing. “To further strengthen protections, unvaccinated travellers – whether U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or the small number of excepted unvaccinated foreign nationals – will now need to test within one day of departure.”

“For those who are vaccinated, the testing requirement remains three days before their flight…. This policy will allow the resumption of regular international travel for those who are fully vaccinated.  Families and friends can see each other again, and tourists can visit our national parks and famous landmarks,” he added.

He said the policy is aimed at further boosting economic recovery across their country which has suffered tremendously from Covid-19 effects.

The government of Uganda has also introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing for all travellers entering the country through Entebbe International Airport to curb the importation of deadly variants of the coronavirus and prevent the spread of the disease in the country.