US to allow entry of people vaccinated with one of 6 WHO-approved formulas

United States announced that it will allow entry into its territory to people vaccinated with one of the six formulas who has already approved the World Health Organization (WHO). This was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English).

That way, those on the full schedule with any of the following vaccines will be able to enter the United States: Moderna, Pfizer, Janssen, Oxford / Astrazeneca, Sinopharm y Sinovac.

In the meantime, there is a seventh formula approved by the WHO, it is the Covishield, which is the Indian version of the Oxford / AstraZeneca version.

On the other hand, it involves a big blow for those who have been vaccinated with the Sputnik V (used in Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Honduras, Hungary, India and Iran), because they it has not been approved by the WHO.

In this regard, a few weeks ago, WHO has suspended Russian vaccine approval process due to violations at production plant. The World Health Organization has detected failures related to “implementation of adequate measures to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination”, During a visit he made with his technicians to a factory in the Russian city of Ufa, which resulted in the approval progress being suspended pending further inspection.

WHO further suggested that further inspections of the facilities would be necessary before the agency grants the approval of Sputnik V. ”The grower must take this into account, make the necessary changes and be ready for further inspections. WHO waits for manufacturer to send news that its factory is up to codeSaid the deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization, Jarbas Barbosa.

Russia has filed for approval with the WHO and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in February, after the publication of a survey in the leading medical journal The Lancet which showed the vaccine to be 91.6% effective. But the approval has run into multiple issues and suffered noticeable delays in recent months.

On September 20, the White House announced that US to lift travel restrictions on air travelers from 33 countries in November, including China, India, Brazil and most of Europe, which are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. He did not specify then which vaccines would be accepted.

A spokesperson for the CDC told the agency Reuters Friday: “Six vaccines authorized / approved by the FDA or included in the WHO emergency use list will meet the criteria for travel to the United States.”

Late Friday, the CDC said that “earlier this week, to help them prepare their systems, we notified airlines” of the vaccines that would be accepted, adding that “The CDC will post additional guidance and information as travel requirements are finalized. “

Some countries have pressured the Biden administration to accept vaccines approved by WHO, as vaccines approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are not widely used in all countries.

The United States will admit fully vaccinated air travelers from the 26 European countries called Schengen, as well as Great Britain, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The unprecedented restrictions of the United States hbarred entry to most non-U.S. citizens who were in those countries during the past 14 days.

The new requirements of the COVID-19 vaccine they will now apply to almost all foreign nationals traveling to the United States, including those who were not subject to the above restrictions.

The CDC has not yet finalized and published the new contract monitoring rules for international visitors, who were sent to the White House for review on September 15.

The CDC should also detail the standards for exceptions, which includes children who cannot yet be vaccinated, as well as visitors from countries where vaccines are not widely available. The administration must also decide whether or not to admit visitors who are participating in COVID-19 clinical trials or who have recently contracted the disease and are not yet eligible for vaccination.

(With information from Reuters)

Read on: