The plan to reopen the US borders on 8 November requires all passengers to be fully vaccinated against Covid. Arrivals will also need to show proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours of departure.
The Biden administration confirmed on Monday (25 October) that those under the age of 18 would be exempt from the vaccine requirements, in addition to people with some medical issues.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had previously confirmed the country would accept vaccines recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The White House has now confirmed this will extended to vaccines approved or authorised for emergency use in the US, which includes the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson-Janssen jabs, as well as those listed for emergency use by the WHO. This includes the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Airlines will be required to confirm passengers have completed their full vaccine programme at least two weeks prior to travel, and will also need to collect passenger information to ensure passport details and vaccine passes match.
Biden said: "I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the Covid-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States."
