Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Reveals New Travel Rules, Which Also Affect Unvaxxed Americans
NBC News: Biden Administration Unveils New Covid Vaccine, Testing Requirements For Travel Into U.S.
The Biden administration on Monday released updated guidelines for traveling into the United States, including stricter requirements on U.S. citizens who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 as well as some exceptions for foreign travelers. Beginning Nov. 8, unvaccinated U.S. citizens and long-term residents will have to present a negative Covid test taken a day before re-entering the country, and unvaccinated foreign nationals will be able to enter only in limited circumstances, an administration official said Monday. Fully vaccinated Americans will have to be tested three days before travel. (Pettypiece, 10/25)
The New York Times: Unvaccinated Children And Some People From Countries With Low Rates Will Be Exempted From New U.S. Travel Rules
Children under the age of 18 who are unvaccinated against the coronavirus, and a limited category of foreigners arriving from countries with low vaccination rates, are among the travelers exempted from forthcoming requirements that will determine who can enter the United States, Biden administration officials said on Monday. The Biden administration has announced that it would lift travel restrictions on Nov. 8 and reopen the United States to fully vaccinated international travelers who had been barred for nearly a year and a half from entering the country by air or crossing the land borders. (Kanno-Youngs, 10/26)
The Washington Post: Cruises Will No Longer Be Required To Follow CDC Rules Starting In January
Authorities replaced an earlier ban on cruise travel with a “conditional sailing order” in October 2020, which laid out steps cruise companies had to take to sail with passengers from U.S. ports. That order — which required ships to sail with at least 95 percent of people vaccinated or perform a test cruise to demonstrate safety procedures — was set to expire on Nov. 1.Instead, the CDC will extend the order, with some tweaks, through Jan. 15. Those changes include new procedures for ships that come to U.S. waters after operating in other jurisdictions, new instructions for ships that want to switch from 95 percent of passengers vaccinated to a lower number and the end of required CDC travel advisories or warnings about cruising in marketing material. (Sampson, 10/26)
CNN: CDC Moves Ukraine To Its Highest Level Of Covid-19 Travel Risk
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added just one new location to its list of "very high" risk travel destinations this week. On Monday afternoon, architecturally rich Ukraine, the second-largest nation in Europe in land area, was moved up from Level 3, or "high" risk for Covid-19, to Level 4, the agency's highest risk category. (Brown, 10/26)
