ellie_gbr

Thanks for clarifying... I knew that new F1 visa holders could enter but our University is still advising current students not to travel and many are understandably worried that if they leave they may not be able to get back and for graduate students that means not getting research funding etc. Stressful for sure.

BritInParis

That would only make sense if the restrictions on travel were being put in place by the UK. The restrictions preventing UK residents visiting the US will be dropped on Monday. We are just waiting for the US to reciprocate.

brit_usa2014

That doesn’t make sense. If that’s the only reason that Biden is allowed to travel then why not have a clause saying that ONLY vaccinated Americans + Britons be allowed to travel along with a Covid Negative Test (Just having a Covid negative test is not sufficient). Anyone who is not vaccinated cannot be allowed to travel full stop. If Cruise Lines are able to impose restrictions I’m sure that Airlines can also do the same. That would also quickly make the Anti Vaxxers get vaccinated too. If Biden is allowed to travel so should the rest of us regardless if he is the leader or not. I’m sure most expats on here like myself have been separated from their Uk families for more than a year now (2 in my case).

brit_usa2014

Also, the State of MA had Zero Death counts as of yesterday and only 422 positive cases out of 42,000 tests run. Out of a population of 7 million 3.5 Million have been fully vaccinated with 2 doses of either Pfizer/ Moderna or 1 Dose J&J. We are one of the top states in the nation when it comes to vaccinated people. I think it’s high time that restrictions are lifted - at least on a pilot basis or a test run. Families have been separated long enough

Giantaxe

The vaccination route only works if there’s a relatively foolproof way of proving it. The handwritten paper cards that most in the US have received are trivial to forge.

destone

That's great for the State of MA but bear in mind that you're in the "most Democratic" state (as per 2018 Gallup), i.e. the vaccine take-up is high. The overall US Covid-19 death count is still around 700/day which is staggeringly high. No international restrictions will be eased until that comes down.

destone

The data has been collected electronically from the get-go across all states (with the exception of New Hampshire). This is, in turn, already shared with the CDC. Once there's consensus on a federal level on a common standard, it won't take long to issue a digital counterpart to those who are vaccinated.

Mercury39

Maybe a future in comedy writing? ;-)

TexanScot

Preventing the unvaccinated from travelling is a political non-starter in the US - it's just not going to happen.

scrubbedexpat099

I have my card which I could easily produce on a very basic WP and printer, everyone I have seen has been different and equally forgable. To my knowledge there is no central database in the US.

tht

There is VAMS as a start and I am sure they could have trusted providers send their data to be added. The issue then would be providing an barcode that could be scanned and then show name and partial DOB to verify against your ID.

While I agree a federal mandate requiring vaccination or proof of medical exemption is not likely, I think private companies likes airlines can have requirements, I think before that can happen the vaccines will need a full vs. EUA.

scrubbedexpat099

I did not show ID, I did not give them my SSN, Colorado was very keen to make clear ID not required.

I used to be a TIPS trainer a long time ago, there was a big book on acceptable ID, just do not see how it could work here, would have to be on the honour system.

tht

That may be the case, but my guess is between VAMS, the big hospital system, CVS, Walgreens, and a few others they will have records that cover a decent % of vaccinated people.

I had to show ID checking in for mine, but I believe their were also sites setup with J&J in the lower income town next door for less documented people to go to to:

We might have an honor system here, but I don’t think other countries will. I believe Israel has a system and I am sure many other developed nations will follow. As is often the case my guess is it will be a private system here, I read Clear is already working on one for travel and high capacity venues, looks like NHL, NBA, MLB etc are signed on, and it would not be hard for them to add a phone based barcode scanner / facial recognition app that smaller businesses could used without a big upfront hardware cost:

https://www.clearme.com/vaccine-validation

scrubbedexpat099

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/01/1...d-noncitizens/

​​​​​​Colorado’s public health department on Sunday sent a letter to the hundreds of providers across the state that are vaccinating residents against COVID-19, directing them not to require government IDs or other documentation before people are inoculated.

Medical facilities and local health agencies that do not follow the state’s directive may lose access to their vaccine supply, Scott Bookman, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s COVID-19 incident commander, warned in the letter to the state’s 459 providers.

tht

That will help get more people vaccinated, but won’t help people prove they are vaccinated if they need to. I saw Mexican tourists on the news in time square saying they wish they could get one, but they were requiring ID to vaccinate people. Seeing what the governor of FL was doing I am sure we will end up with a mess and different requirements state to state.