Americans who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can travel safely at home and abroad, as long as they take basic precautions like wearing masks, federal health officials announced on Friday, a long-awaited change from the government’s dire warnings. who kept many millions at home last year.
In announcing the change at a press conference at the White House, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that they preferred people to avoid traveling. But they said the growing evidence of vaccine effectiveness in the real world – which was given to more than 100 million Americans – suggests that inoculated people can do it “at low risk to themselves”.
The change in the official position of the CDC occurs in a moment of hope and danger in the pandemic. The pace of vaccinations has been accelerating rapidly across the country and the number of deaths is decreasing.
However, cases are increasing significantly in many states, as new variants of the coronavirus spread across the country. Last Monday, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the CDC, warned of a potential fourth wave if states and cities continued to loosen restrictions on public health, telling reporters that she had feelings of “impending doom. “.
Some public health experts were surprised by Friday’s announcement and expressed concern that the government was sending mixed signals to the public.
“It’s a mix of ‘please don’t travel’, while making travel easier for a subset of people,” said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. “I think it is very confusing and goes against the message we heard earlier this week, ‘stand still’, ‘wait’, ‘be patient’. And it worries me. Public health messages have to be very clear, very consistent and very simple. “
Dr. Walensky herself seemed to recognize the apparent mix of messages during Friday’s press conference. “Science shows us that total vaccination allows you to do more things safely and it is important for us to provide this guidance even in the context of growing cases, ”she said.
The travel industry has embraced the new orientation, hoping it could be the beginning of a turnaround in fortune for airlines, hotels and tourist destinations, which have suffered increasing losses for more than a year.
“As travel returns, jobs in the U.S. return,” said Roger Dow, chief executive of the US Travel Association, an industry group, in a statement.
Federal officials have remained adamant that people who have not been fully vaccinated should not travel, a position widely supported by public health experts.
“If you are fully vaccinated, you can travel again, but if you are not, there is still a lot of viruses circulating and it is still a risky endeavor and you should postpone until you are vaccinated or the situation improves,” said Caitlin Rivers, epidemiologist and assistant professor Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
If unvaccinated people need to travel, the CDC recommends that they be tested for coronavirus infection one to three days before travel and again three to five days after termination. They should be quarantined for seven days after their trip if they take the test and for 10 days if they don’t take the test, the agency said.
People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two weeks after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. About 58 million people in the United States, 22 percent of the adult population, have been fully vaccinated, according to the latest CDC figures
Scientists are still unsure whether vaccinated people can become infected, even if only briefly, and pass the virus on to others. A recent CDC study suggested that such cases may be rare, but until that issue is resolved, many public health officials feel that it is unwise to tell vaccinated Americans to simply do what they want. They say it is important that all vaccinated people continue to wear masks, practice social detachment and take other care.
According to the new CDC guidance, fully vaccinated Americans traveling in the country do not need to be tested for coronavirus or follow quarantine procedures at the destination or after returning home. When they travel abroad, they only need to have a coronavirus test or quarantine if the country they are going to require.
However, the guidance says that they must have a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight back to the United States, and they should be tested again three to five days after their return.
The recommendation is based on the idea that vaccinated people can still become infected with the virus. The CDC also cited the lack of vaccine coverage in other countries and concerns about the possible introduction and spread of new variants of the virus that are more prevalent abroad.
Most states have accelerated their vaccination schedules for all adults, as the rate of vaccination has been increasing across the country. As of Friday, an average of nearly three million injections per day were being administered, according to data reported by the CDC
The new council adds to the CDC recommendations issued in early March, saying that fully vaccinated people can meet in small groups in private settings, without masks or social distance, and can visit unvaccinated individuals from a single home, provided they have low risk of developing serious illness if infected with the virus.
Travel is already increasing across the country, as the climate warms and Americans get tired of the pandemic restrictions. Last Sunday was the busiest day at domestic airports since the pandemic began. According to the Transportation Security Administration, almost 1.6 million people have passed security checkpoints at American airports.
But industry concerns are far from over. The pandemic has also shown small and large companies that their employees can be just as productive working remotely as in face-to-face meetings. As a result, airlines and hotel companies hope it will take years for profitable corporate travel to return to pre-pandemic levels, leaving a big hole in revenue.
And while leisure travel within the United States may be recovering steadily, airlines expect it will still take until 2023 or 2024 for passenger volumes to reach 2019 levels, according to Airlines for America, a industry group. The sector lost more than $ 35 billion last year and continues to lose tens of millions of dollars a day, the group said.
Many countries, including those in the European Union, still prevent most Americans from coming. Some are beginning to make exceptions for vaccinees. As of March 26, fully vaccinated Americans with proof of vaccination can visit Iceland, for example, and avoid restrictions such as testing and quarantine, the country’s government said.
The CDC on Thursday also issued more detailed technical instructions for cruise lines, requiring them to take steps to develop vaccination strategies and make plans for routine testing of crew members and daily Covid-19 case reports before they can. perform experimental travel simulations with volunteers, before boarding real passengers. CDC guidelines recognize that cruising “will always pose some risk of Covid-19 transmission”.
Some destinations and cruise lines have already started demanding that travelers be fully vaccinated. The Royal Caribbean cruise line is requiring passengers and crew members aged 18 and over to be vaccinated to board their ships, as well as Virgin Voyages, Crystal Cruises and others.
At the moment, airlines do not require vaccines to travel. But the idea has been much talked about in the sector.
Niraj Chokshi contributed reporting.