Travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should not have to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test when entering the U.S., according to the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), which sent a letter to The White House on Feb. 1.
The current order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires a negative COVID-19 test to be presented for all incoming air travelers.
However, ASTA’s proposed modification would help remove “a number of practical challenges to our members and their clients,” wrote Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA, who sent the letter on behalf of the association’s 17,000 travel advisor members.
“These challenges range from uncertainty as to the availability of timely testing in-destination to avoid disruption to their return trip to the financial and psychological burdens associated with being prevented from returning home due to a positive (or false positive) test result, to a general chilling effect on international travel bookings,” Kerby said.
Additionally, he said that the CDC’s shortening of the testing window from 72 to 24 hours, which was implemented late last year after the Omicron variant of the virus emerged, “has only exacerbated these challenges.”
Exempting the more than 200 million Americans who are fully vaccinated from the order would reflect the scientific consensus that widespread vaccinations are the single most important element of the fight against COVID-19, while allowing the travel industry’s recovery to begin in earnest.
Executives at ASTA believe that the CDC’s testing order, which was issued in January 2021, is outdated and functioning as a roadblock to full recovery within the travel industry. An additional benefit of its removal, Kerby said, is the hope that it would provide an incentive for unvaccinated individuals to get the shot.
“According to the CDC, ‘The best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 … is for individuals to get vaccinated … Vaccinated individuals are five times less likely to be infected, and 10 times less likely to experience hospitalization or death due to COVID-19 than unvaccinated individuals,’” Kerby said. “Exempting the more than 200 million Americans who are fully vaccinated from the order would reflect the scientific consensus that widespread vaccinations are the single most important element of the fight against COVID-19, while allowing the travel industry’s recovery to begin in earnest.”
However, Kerby also clarified that ASTA does not believe vaccination should be a requirement for all international travel; rather, “a balance needs to be struck in terms of protecting public health without crippling the free flow of commerce and individuals across international borders.”
If the order is revoked, the U.S. wouldn’t be the first country to eliminate such a mandate; it would join Ireland, the U.K. and Scotland in moving away from testing requirements.
The Details
ASTA
