Travelers flying to the United States will still need proof of Covid vaccination until at least April as officials persist with failed pandemic policies.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has quietly extended the requirement, which was due to expire this weekend, until April 10.
This means all non-US citizens will still have to show they’ve had at least two doses of the vaccine — or an accepted single dose as with Johnson and Johnson.
The move makes America an outlier in the West, where most countries abandoned so-called “vaccination passports” months ago when they failed to keep infections low.
There are growing concerns that harmful Covid policies are creeping back into American life after hundreds of thousands of students were forced to wear face masks in class this week as schools brought back mandates.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has quietly extended the requirement, which was due to expire this weekend, until April 10
The TSA last week claimed the policy was aimed at protecting US citizens and preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed
As the chart above shows, the introduction of proof of vaccination for travelers on November 8, 2021 did not stem the influx of Covid cases from the Omicron variant last winter
An emergency amendment sneaked out by the TSA last week claims the policy aims to protect US citizens and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
It was originally rolled out in November 2021 amid the Omicron wave that sent infection rates skyrocketing around the world, when dozens of countries implemented similar restrictions.
However, experts have increasingly accepted that Covid vaccines – while highly effective at preventing serious illnesses – are not very good at stopping infection.
Almost all European countries, including the UK, have abandoned the measure. Only a handful of nations have kept them, mostly in the Middle East and Africa.
The TSA document reads: “Together with the President’s Proclamation and CDC regulation, these guidelines are intended to limit the risk of Covid-19, including variants of the virus that causes Covid-19, being introduced, transmitted and spread in and everywhere.” the United States, potentially overstretching United States healthcare and public health resources, endangering the health and safety of the American people, and threatening the security of our civil aviation system.’
To enter the United States, travelers must present documentation proving they are “fully vaccinated,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The most effective Covid vaccines – like those from Moderna and Pfizer – are estimated to protect up to 90 percent from death in the months following vaccination.
However, the rapid mutation of the virus over the past year has made it difficult to pinpoint exactly how effective the vaccines are.
Experts agree that whatever the number, the vaccines have had tremendous protective effects, saving an estimated 3 million American lives and preventing 19 million hospitalizations.
But vaccinations are significantly less effective at stopping transmission, dropping effectiveness below 30 percent three months after immunization.
dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, admitted last year that the shooting “can no longer prevent transmission.”
US COVID CASES: Covid infections have been on the rise across the country in recent weeks, with around 400,000 weekly cases compared to 300,000 a month ago
US COVID DEATHS: Deaths have leveled off since the summer, a trend attributed to high levels of popular immunity
US COVID HOSPITALIZATIONS: Hospitalizations for people with Covid have also risen in recent weeks – but paled in comparison to last year. In the United States, there have been an average of around 6,500 admissions a day for the past week because of the virus – about twice as many as at the beginning of November
The Biden administration dropped the requirement for international travelers to the United States to present a negative Covid test last June, but appears unwilling to budge from the recordings.
Technically, that means people can fly to the US even if they test positive for the virus – as long as they’re vaccinated.
The US announced last week that all passengers arriving from China would then have to present a negative test to rule out new variants.
China abruptly ended its zero-Covid policy in December, leading to an explosive wave that overwhelmed crematoria and reportedly caused hundreds of millions of infections in a matter of weeks.
But the World Health Organization (WHO) said today that it is actually a variant of Covid spreading in the US that is of most concern.
XBB.1.5 – another Omicron spin-off – is behind about 70 percent of new infections in the hardest-hit parts of the US and four in 10 nationwide.
It has been spreading rapidly in recent weeks, accounting for just four percent of US cases in early December, suggesting it has a major growth advantage over competing strains.
XBB.1.5 is spreading much faster in the US than anywhere else. In the UK, for example, the substem lags behind in only 1 in 20 cases.
dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead for Covid, told a news conference on Wednesday: “We are concerned about its growth advantage, particularly in some countries in Europe and in the US…particularly in the Northeastern United States, where XBB.1.5 has rapidly.” other circulating variants replaced.
“Our concern is how transmissible it is … and the more this virus circulates, the more opportunities it will have to change.”