By Aaron Miller-
The Biden Administration has announced the category of unvaccinated tourists it will allow into the U.S when its new air travel rules go into place next month, including people under the age of 18.
The vaccine exemptions were detailed by senior administration officials who told reporters on a call that the exemptions represent a “very, very small number of actual travelers to the U.S.”
The new mandatory rule for double vaccination prior to entry into America comes after the U.S suffered one of the worst cases of Covid deaths in the world, though the accuracy of death numbers remains a question among some analysts and investigators
Under the new rules, people under the age of 18 are exempted due to “both the ineligibility of some younger children for vaccination, as well as the global variability in access to vaccination for older children who are eligible to be vaccinated,” according to a White House fact sheet.
Those who are travelling from countries that have a vaccination rate of less than 10% on non-tourist visas will also not be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to fly into the U.S.
An estimated 50 countries have not yet met the 10% threshold.
The Biden administration said that exemptions will also be made for certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants, people with medical conditions that prevent them from getting the shot, and those who need to travel “for emergency or humanitarian reasons.”
Travellers who are exempt from the vaccine rules and above the age of 2 will still need to show a negative COVID-19 test result taken within a day of travel.
Senior administration officials released the guidelines to give airlines time to prepare for the new travel rules, which start on Nov. 8.
The travel industry has suffered economically during the pandemic and pressured the Biden administration to relax restrictions that have been in place for much of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Biden Administration will work closely with the airlines to ensure that these new requirements are implemented successfully,” the fact sheet said.
The Biden administration said it would accept vaccines cleared by the World Health Organization, which notably does not include Russia’s Sputnik V shot.
The announcement that only double vaccinated people will be able to enter America from November is expected to encourage more of those who want to enter America to be vaccinated, but it will also debar those who are insistent on not being baccinated from entering