Content updated Nov. 8, 2021, by Riley Nisbet

The White House lifted its travel ban on 33 countries, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, for all fully vaccinated travelers to the United States. For those flying into the U.S. proof of full COVID-19 vaccination will be necessary along with a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than three days before departure.

The travel ban, which was announced during the Trump administration and extended by Biden earlier this year, was shown to be ineffective against slowing the spread of the virus. By lifting the travel ban, the U.S. is able to take a more concentrated effort in stopping Covid-19 from being spread through travel. White House coronavirus response coordinator, Jeff Zients, who made the announcement, said that lifting the travel ban allows the U.S. to take an individual-based approach rather than a country-based approach, which he sees as a “stronger system”. This is because it allows the U.S. to utilize the vaccine–the most successful tool in preventing the spread of the coronavirus–rather than attempting to police geographic hot spots.

Before lifting the ban, the U.S. had been slow to re-open for travel to the frustration of international allies, and in some cases, the U.S. returned to restricted travel lists. In June, the European Union relaxed its restrictions on U.S. travelers, but this leniency had not been reciprocated by the U.S. With the ban lifted, the U.S. will be accepting international, non-emergency travelers for the first time since the initial ban on China was put in place in March 2020.

Per NPR, the newly announced travel requirements do not apply to ground travel from Canada or Mexico.

 

The Lifted Travel Ban and Your AMO Rotation

AMO wants to make traveling for your clinical experience as smooth as possible. If you are currently approved for a rotation, your AMO Coach will be a great resources for what the lifted travel ban means for your individual situation. If you are interested in a clinical experience through AMO and have questions about what the travel ban means for you, our team of advisors will be happy to help! Reach out at advisors@amopportunities.org

A lift of the ban has been long anticipated, and we expect this news to cause seats to fill quickly well into 2022. Explore and reserve your AMO clinical experience here.