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https://wjla.com/news/coronavirus-vaccine/white-house-exploring-tentative-plans-to-resume-international-travel

White House exploring tentative plans to resume international travel

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — International travel is making a comeback. Dozens of countries are reopening their borders to U.S. tourists and the Biden administration is formulating plans to restart travel with some of America's closest partners.

The world is starting to reopen. That's sparking excitement among stir-crazy travelers and cautious optimism from public health officials who are confident in COVID-19 vaccines but remain concerned about virus variants.

"It is still risky," said Dr. Lin Chen director of the Travel Medicine Center at Mount Auburn. "The risk is just far lower for the vaccinated people."

With nearly 64% of U.S. adults partially vaccinated, the White House announced plans to reopen travel with some of America's closest partners. This week, several working groups made up of public health experts started exploring when and how to resume non-essential travel with Canada, Mexico, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

"The point of these working groups is to share data and set out both milestones and criteria to enable a reopening of travel between our two countries as swiftly as possible, consistent with public health guidance," National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday, referring to the U.K. and E.U. groups.

The effort is being led by the White House Covid-19 Response Team and the National Security Council with representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Transportation, according to reports.

The White House signaled that it's not ready to lift restrictions on international non-essential travel yet or announce a timeline to allow foreign visitors into the United States. "At the end of the day this is a process being driven by science and public health guidance," Sullivan said. The United States still has COVID-19 travel bans on the E.U., the U.K., Ireland, China, Brazil, South Africa, India and Iran. U.S. land borders have also been closed to Canadian and Mexican travelers since March 2020.

The U.S. Travel Association celebrated the announcement as "an important step forward in our national recovery from the pandemic."

Even with the United States closed to most foreign tourists, the world is starting to open up again. France and Spain announced they would accept vaccinated American tourists this summer. Many other popular destinations are welcoming travelers with proof of vaccination, a positive serological test for antibodies or a negative COVID test.

Cruises are launching this summer, with some requiring vaccines and others not. Royal Caribbean announced it would sail eight ships from ports in Florida and Texas to international destinations beginning in July. Norwegian and Carnival are also resuming trips.

At the same time, pressure has been growing for governments in countries that are still closed to lessen travel restrictions, particularly as more countries ramp up vaccine distribution.

This week top airline and airport executives in the U.S. and U.K. urged both governments' leaders to establish a travel corridor and lift the mutual travel bans. Both the U.S. and U.K. have vaccinated over 60% of their population. "These are the poster children of good vaccination programs," said John Holland-Kaye, CEO of London's Heathrow Airport at a Monday press conference. "There needs to be a prize for that."

Yet, the emergence of new, highly transmissible variants has led some to question the risks and benefits of resuming international travel.

On Thursday, the World Health Organization urged Europeans to travel "responsibly" over the summer holiday, warning the continent was "by no means out of danger" despite increased vaccinations and lower case counts.

Average daily new cases in the U.K. have spiked 68% over the last week, driven by the Delta variant, first detected in India.

The Delta variant has spread quickly among children and young adults. According to the U.K. health secretary, it is causing 91% of Britain's new COVID cases and has threatened to derail British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's plans to reopen the economy later this month.

Yet, preliminary data from the National Institutes of Health suggest two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are likely to provide protection against the Delta variant with minimal loss of efficacy. A single dose of either dramatically reduces efficacy.

Across the board, all the vaccines available in the United States have proven effective against all the variants of concern. Not only do they prevent serious illness in vaccinated people but studies show that they also limit transmission of the virus to others in rare cases of breakthrough infections. The lower risk of illness and transmission bodes well for vaccinated jet-setters and for public health generally.

"Vaccination is going to help us reopen the world," said Dr. Chen."I really see that as the major way of reopening travel."

Additionally, there are layered protections in place around international travel. Passengers are required to wear masks on flights. Anyone flying back to the United States must also present a negative COVID-19 test taken 72 hours before their return flight.

For those who are ready to travel abroad, experts say getting fully vaccinated is the first and most important step. After that, it's critical to understand the landscape before jumping on a plane.

"There's a chaotic mix of different requirements and they're rapidly changing," Dr. Henry Wu, an epidemiologist and director of the Emory TravelWell Center told reporters Thursday. That includes local mask mandates, vaccine requirements, tests and quarantines. "So, do your research and stay flexible."

Countries with high rates of vaccination and low case counts are the safest destination. Those experiencing surges of COVID-19 infections are not a good choice, Wu noted. Not only is the possibility of infection greater but travelers risk becoming a burden on a strained hospital system if they become sick or injured.

The State Department currently advises strongly against traveling to 38 countries. That number is down significantly from April when the State Department issued a widespread travel warning for more than 80% of countries due to COVID-19 infection rates.

The CDC's map of travel recommendations by destination shows much of the world in the "high" to "very high"-risk level for COVID-19.

Compared to lockdown, travel will always increase the risk of spreading the virus. But even with strict limitations in place, the risk of new variants entering the country is always possible. B.1.1.7, or the Alpha variant first detected in the U.K., now accounts for over two-thirds of new U.S. COVID cases. Around 10% of new cases are the highly transmissible P.1 or Gamma variant, that first emerged in Brazil, according to the CDC. The Delta variant, which is driving up cases in Western Europe, has been detected across the United States, making up 6% of new infections.

"The question we've got to ask ourselves is: is this something we can stop or is it inevitable?" said Gerald Commissiong, CEO of Todos Medical, Ltd., a diagnostics company focused on COVID-19 testing, screening and immune support.

By focusing on vaccinating as much of the population as possible, public health officials hope to get a baseline immunity to protect against emerging variants of concern. But it's a race against the emergence of variants in other parts of the world where vaccines are unavailable.

"At the end of the day, there's no denying the biological risk that some of these variants will overcome the vaccines," Commissiong noted. "If we don't help the world get vaccinated ... it's inevitable there's going to be a variant that makes all these vaccines useless."

On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced the U.S. would share 500 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine with low-income countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and parts of Oceania. Last month, the U.S. announced it would donate 80 million U.S. vaccines from its excess supply to COVAX, the worldwide vaccine initiative.

The contribution marks the largest single-country donation of vaccines during the pandemic. Beyond protecting millions of people against the virus, the widespread distribution of vaccines also serves U.S. national interests, the White House explained. "COVID-19 knows no borders," a senior White House official told reporters Thursday. "As long as this virus has a hold somewhere in the world, Americans are at risk."

In addition to vaccines, the development of antiviral drugs and therapeutics are also helping win the fight against COVID-19 and improving the prospects of the safe return of international travel. On Wednesday, Merck announced it would supply the U.S. government with 1.7 million doses of molnupiravir, an oral antiviral drug to treat outpatient cases of COVID-19, pending approval by the Food and Drug Administration.