Uruguay ready to open its borders: could offer vaccines to foreign tourists

The government of Uruguay is preparing a plan, to be announced on August 9, to reopen its borders from September. First, homeless owners who are vaccinated and then foreign tourists would be allowed to enter this country; In addition, the possibility of offering so-called vaccine tourism is being studied.

Despite the presence of the Delta variant in this country, a reopening of international tourism is expected next month. This pressed the significant drop in Covid-19 infections due to high vaccination rate, according to local media El País. To which is added the application of a third dose for people immunized with Sinovac. Companies in the tourism sector are awaiting President Luis Lacalle Pou’s conference tomorrow.

So far, on the possible announcements that the Uruguayan government will make, we know that in September allow entry of homeless owners who are vaccinated. A month later, according to what his Minister of Tourism, Germán Cardozo, told local media, “if all goes well”, the entry of foreign tourists vaccinated, with two doses and 15 days after vaccination.

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Concerning people inoculated with the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, the most applied in Argentina, the Deputy Secretary of Public Health of the neighboring country, José Luis Satdjian, anticipated: “We will accept them”.

Beyond what the Under-Secretary said, it is a sensitive issue that is being analyzed within the Uruguayan government since it is a vaccine not yet endorsed by the World Organization. health (WHO). A history that could work in favor is that something similar happened in this country with the Sinovac vaccine, which began to be applied before the approval of the international body.

A third theme to be defined, and which could be added to Monday’s announcements, is the vaccine tourism, that is, the possibility of vaccinating foreigners in Uruguay. This point “is under discussion” with the president and the minister of public health, Cardozo said.

“Today we have enough vaccine stock until 2023,” Minister Cardozo said a few days ago in the Chamber of Deputies., and in this sense, he explained that if vaccination tourism took place, it would be more the summer season. The central government has clarified that this scenario will only materialize after all Uruguayans who wish can receive their third dose.

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