No Booster, No Travel? More Trips Will Require Third Shot Beginning In February

By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, https://www.forbes.com/

Want to travel with fewer hassles? Three is the magic number. Amid the worst surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, a growing number of destinations are factoring a booster shot into their existing vaccine mandates for travelers, and allowing those who have received a third shot to bypass some Covid-related protocols.

Will this trend put a crimp in Americans’ plans for international travel in 2022? A majority of Americans have thus far resisted getting a third Covid-19 vaccination, despite overwhelming evidence that boosters offer protection against the worst that the omicron variant can dish out. A CDC study published this month found that protection from two doses of the vaccine waned significantly after six months, and that a booster dose was very effective at preventing hospitalizations. A separate study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who had three doses of an mRNA vaccine were about three times less likely to get a symptomatic omicron infection than unvaccinated people. And a U.K. study concluded that a third dose of the vaccine cuts the risk of death due to the omicron variant by 95%.

Hawaii

The state of Hawaii is updating its travel protocols to include a booster shot, Hawaii Governor David Ige has said. The move will allow visitors who have received their third Covid shot to bypass quarantine without needing to present a pre-travel test. The change will be officially announced “in the next few days,” according to Ige, after which there will be a short grace period before the requirement kicks in.

Europe

Last month, the European Commission adopted binding acceptance period for vaccination certificates of 270 days for intra-European Union travel. Beginning February 1, anyone who received their initial one or two vaccination doses more than nine months before traveling to Europe cannot move between EU countries unless they have also received a booster shot. Some EU countries are independently changing their entry policies to align with the commission’s ruling on intra-EU travel. And, in some case, countries are going even farther.

Austria: Travelers from the United States to Austria are considered fully vaccinated if they received a two-dose vaccine within the past 270 days. Visitors can show proof of a booster or recent recovery to avoid testing or quarantine requirements.

Croatia: Last summer, the Balkan country was the first in the EU to set a limit on the validity period for Covid-19 vaccine certificates. American travelers and others from outside the European Union are required to show that their second shot (or first, in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) was administered within the last 365 days.

France: While France does not require a booster to enter the country, it’s a different story if you want a Pass Vaccinal, which is necessary to dine at restaurants and visit attractions. To get a Pass Vaccinal, travelers must be boosted within seven months after receiving the second dose of a two-course vaccine series. But beginning February 15, that period will shrink to four months after vaccination.

Netherlands: Since December 30, 2021, the U.S. has been deemed “very high risk” by the Dutch government. That means American travelers must self-quarantine for 10 days upon arrival (unless negative test result is received on day 5) even if they have proof of vaccination or recovery and a negative Covid test.

Beginning Wednesday, February 2, travelers to the Netherlands who have received a booster can avoid the quarantine, while unvaccinated travelers and those who haven’t received a third dose, will continue to be subject to the 10-day quarantine requirement unless they get an exemption.

Spain: requires American travelers to have received their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine no more than 270 days, or nine months, before arriving in the country. If more than nine months have passed since the second dose, “U.S. citizens must show proof of having received a booster shot at least 14 days prior to arrival in Spain.”

Asia

Israel: Last October, Israel tightened restrictions for the country’s Covid Green Pass needed to enter indoor venues. Passes for people who have received two vaccine doses or recovered from Covid-19 are now valid for just six months after the date of their completed vaccination or recovery.

Singapore: Beginning February 14, Singapore will consider adult travelers to be fully vaccinated only if they received their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine within 270 days of arrival

Cruise Lines

In recent weeks, several cruise lines have announced that they will require passengers to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot before sailing. Upscale cruise line Viking Cruises will require passengers to be boosted beginning February 1. Silversea Cruises and Azamara and adventure line Lindblad Expeditions plan to implement a booster requirement beginning March 1.Small-ship Alaska specialist UnCruise Adventures will require boosters starting on February 5.

Israel Tightens Travel Restrictions Over New COVID Variant

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Sunday approved barring entry to foreign nationals and the use of controversial technology for contact tracing as part of its efforts to clamp down on a new coronavirus variant.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that the country’s coronavirus Cabinet had authorized a raft of measures, including red-listing travel to 50 African countries, banning entry by foreigners and mandating quarantine for all Israelis arriving from abroad.

It also approved use of the Shin Bet internal security agency’s controversial phone monitoring technology to perform contact tracing of individuals confirmed with the new omicron variant of coronavirus in Israel.

Israeli rights groups had decried the use of the cellphone monitoring technology as a violation of privacy rights, and the Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that its use be limited.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement Sunday that “resuming the program via emergency regulation is a blatant disregard for the rule of law,” and pointed to the court’s ruling that “the tracking had not proven effective in preventing the spread of the virus.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that tightening Israel’s borders will help keep the country open internally.

“Restrictions on the country’s borders is not an easy step, but it’s a temporary and necessary step,” he said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Dr. Ran Balicer, head of the government’s advisory panel on COVID-19, told Israel’s Kan public radio that the new measures were necessary for the “fog of war” surrounding the new variant, saying it was “better to act early and strictly” to prevent its spread.

On Saturday, Israel said it had detected the new strain in a traveler who had returned from Malawi and was investigating seven other suspected cases. The seven people included three vaccinated individuals and all were placed in isolation.

The new coronavirus variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread.

Israel, a country of 9.3. million people, has reported at least 8,184 deaths from coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. Most of its population — over 6.3 million people — has received at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and more than 4 million Israelis have received a booster. It has more than 7,000 active cases, 120 of them hospitalized in serious condition, according to Health Ministry statistics.