The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its travel guidance as growing numbers of citizens become “fully vaccinated”.
The CDC said that “Given recent studies evaluating the real-world effects of vaccination, fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves”.
It added that such people do not need Covid-19 testing or post-travel self-quarantine for travel within the United States “as long as they continue to take Covid-19 precautions while travelling – wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, socially distancing, and washing hands frequently”.
A person is considered full vaccinated in the US two weeks after receiving their last recommended dose of vaccine.
The CDC also provided the following advice for international travel:
- Fully vaccinated people can travel internationally without getting a Covid-19 test before travel unless it is required by the international destination
- Fully vaccinated people do not need to self-quarantine after returning to the United States, unless required by a state or local jurisdiction
- Fully vaccinated people must still have a negative Covid-19 test result before they board a flight to the United States and get a Covid-19 test three to five days after returning from international travel
- Fully vaccinated people should continue to take Covid-19 precautions while traveling internationally
The agency continues to “discourage” non-essential domestic travel by those who are not fully vaccinated, and said that those unvaccinated travellers who do travel should get tested one-three days before domestic travel and again three-five days after travel, and should stay self-quarantine for seven days after travel, or ten days if they don’t get tested at the conclusion of travel.
“With millions of Americans getting vaccinated every day, it is important to update the public on the latest science about what fully vaccinated people can do safely, now including guidance on safe travel,” said CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky.
“We continue to encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as it’s their turn, so we can begin to safely take steps back to our everyday lives. Vaccines can help us return to the things we love about life, so we encourage every American to get vaccinated as soon as they have the opportunity.”
For our look at which countries are currently accepting vaccinated travellers, see:
