Update 5/3/21: EU has recommended that members open their borders to fully vaccinated travelers by early June.
Good news for those wanting to travel to Europe this summer. In an interview with the Times in Brussels Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission stated that two important things:
- Because one thing is clear: All 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by E.M.A.,
- The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,
Full details have not been provided at this stage of how this will actually work, but it’s a positive sign.
Unless the Biden administration also rescinds the requirement to get a Covid test before flying back to the USA, demand for summer travel to Europe will be low even if the EU allows it.
Don’t think that is true. People have been getting tests to travel all along. However, I think they should do away with the test requirements for vaccinated people not showing symptoms.
There is a difference between getting a free test at a local CVS and getting a test in a foreign country. I do hope they will stop with the required tests for vaccinated people.
“Open to the vaccinated” merely means non-essential travel will be allowed. As a current EU resident, I believe many countries will still have arrival quarantine and or testing requirements.
Another thing to note is that there is no reliable way to tell if somebody was actually vaccinated or not. There is no worldwide database that is kept and the vaccination cards can be easily forged.
Lol imagine finding out the vaccine you got isn’t on the approved list. Time to get re-vaccinated
1. Don’t offer vaccines to other countries.
2. Then, don’t accept travelers from countries that did not have the right vaccine
Makes total sense!
Imagine finding out this situation does not exist. All the major vaccines are on the the list. Unless you’re a member of the Chinese Communist Party no one is getting unapproved vaccines even if they wanted to.
Tell us more about this so-called Chinese Communist Party. You seem to be an expert on both it and the global vaccine supply chain.
Greece accepts pretty much any vaccine that exists in the world, including the Russian and the Chinese ones.
Sometimes I just come here to read some of the most amazing and entertaining comments.
Thank you all.
Book your flights now.
Be outraged later.
The cycle continues.
Right. Likely rules will change again, and Euro-lock will happen again around October, as seasonal “cases” and deaths increase compared to the summer.
So what date exactly will the EU be open so I can book flights?
Since they said “by early June,” mid-June and later would make sense. But seeing as there are 50 layers of bureaucracy, I wouldn’t book anything earlier than July. And I definitely wouldn’t book Basic Economy.
Folks, please get vaccinated and encourage others to do so as well.
pls fuk off
Concerned about long term effects on fertility? Please explain your science.
No matter how vaccinated your children are, please leave them behind as you travel to Europe this summer, especially if they’re teenagers who would rather eat their own toenails than shower before boarding a plane. Thank you.
Despite good vaccination rate, daily case number and daily death number have not really dwindled in the United States. We are really only back to where we were this time last August. So where comes this euphoria and optimism? I just hope we don’t become the next India. India was celebrating its success weeks ago and now is a living hell.
Deaths are a lagging indicator because of the time it takes between infection and demise, and cases have seen a noticeable drop week-over-week for two straight weeks now. Oh, and there’s also the thing where we have more than 80% of seniors and around 60% of all adults vaccinated to some degree. All evidence thus far shows that the vaccines are reasonably effective against variants. We are … not India.
Tons of fear mongering after spring break. Instead after the 3 week lag all it did keep the rate decline close to zero but basically no increase. Positivity rate for tests is down from 10% this past winter to 5%. Things are moving along very nicely. We just need as many people to get vaccinated. Politics aside it’s the right thing to do. Make people’s lives easier who choose to vaccinate.
People who live in Michigan likely feel differently.
We cannot become India. It’s not even remotely possible. Vaccines are working and this thing is about to become background noise in the US
Not sure how people even come up with this wild nonsense.
You’re reiterating exactly what almost every country in the world thought a year ago: “we cannot become them. It’s not even remotely possible.”
Not sure how people even come to be this recklessly optimistic about something they barely understand.
It’s been over a year, and you’ve learned nothing. And that’s the real nonsense.
The real nonsense is what you’re spewing. India is like <5% vaccinated. It's literally impossible to be the next India because the density of unvaccinated individuals is way lower (not to mention the population density in general, along with other factors like sanitation and the quality of the health system). The soonest we could possibly become "May 2021 India" would probably be next fall/winter, due to some new variant. And I find THAT to be unlikely, due to the likelihood of a booster shot and the much better surveillance and travel restrictions now versus months ago, when variants would appear and spread unchecked.
You don’t understand even basic things about how vaccines work do you? Over 50% of adult US population vaccinated now. We cannot possibly become India. What you are saying is 110% fact free and totally mathematically impossible
Try and learn a thing or two about how vaccines work to reduce infections across a population, then come back and post. Quit spreading ridiculous nonsense you’re as bad as the right wing know nothing hacks
Well I’m with Harry here despite being mostly optimistic.
If we “cannot become the next India”, it’s because of our wealth and the healthcare infrastructure already in place. The USA still has far more cases & deaths since the onset of the pandemic, despite having 1/4 of the population far less densely populated. In other words, we’ve already had far worse than India in terms of transmission and death rates.
I’m hopeful that vaccines will protect us from any downturns, but if there’s one thing we learned from this pandemic it’s that we can’t take anything for granted.
Definitely not the case. Vaccinations continue and us here in LA finally got a 0 deaths day. Something not seen since a year ago. While vaccinations are slowing, they continue throughput the country. I know some states are seeing surges, but I don’t think we’re going into full blown uncontrollable breakouts anymore.
new cases are down 26% in the last 14 days according to the New York Times. I’d call that a dwindle.
Well, group tours from major tour operators are cancelled until September. A few muzzled cruises are available but with tons of restrictions. Going to let’s say Costa Del Sol for a beach break? Why, I can go to Mexico.
IMO: too early.