US to drop COVID testing requirement for international flyers Sunday

[Old55]

US to drop COVID testing requirement for international flyers Sunday

International travel is about to get a whole lot easier. 

The Biden administration announced Friday that the United States will no longer require a pre-departure COVID-19 test to enter the country starting Sunday.

The requirement will be lifted at 12:01 a.m. ET, according to a senior administration official. The rule change comes more than a year after the country started requiring a negative test for entry and more than two years since the pandemic began.

Under current entry requirements, air passengers must take a negative viral coronavirus test no more than one day before boarding their flight into the U.S. The rule applied to all travelers, regardless of vaccination status or citizenship, but grants exemptions to travelers 2 and older who had recently recovered from the virus. 

The decision came, according to the official, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined based on science that the requirement is no longer necessary. The decision will be reassessed in 90 days and the health agency plans to evaluate it on an ongoing basis.

If it becomes necessary to reinstate the pre-departure test requirement (in case of new, concerning variants, for example), the official continued, the CDC will plan to do so.

A number of other countries, including the United Kingdom, have already dropped pre-departure testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors. 

Requirements for travelers entering the U.S. by land or ferry remain unchanged: non-U.S. citizens, nationals and permanent residents can only enter if they are fully vaccinated. There is no testing requirement for land ports or ferry terminals.

Edit by poster; The article goes on to praise President Brandon and his cabinet adding no facts to the actual testing requirement changes.

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Old55

[JoV]

Hi there! New here! Not sure if this is the right forum. I’m so confused about this one health pass requirement to travel to the Philippines. When should we get the QR code?

[Jollygoodfellow]

10 minutes ago, JoV said:

Hi there! New here! Not sure if this is the right forum. I’m so confused about this one health pass requirement to travel to the Philippines. When should we get the QR code?

Its simple. The one health pass website wont allow you to to submit if to early, 72 hours before flight is what you do from memory the other day.  Now as soon as its submitted there are no Email confirmation anymore so screenshot the QR code which comes as soon as submitted. 

Keep the screenshot in your phone as you will need it just before immigration. 

[KC813]

17 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Its simple. The one health pass website wont allow you to to submit if to early, 72 hours before flight is what you do from memory the other day.  Now as soon as its submitted there are no Email confirmation anymore so screenshot the QR code which comes as soon as submitted. 

Keep the screenshot in your phone as you will need it just before immigration. 

I looked yesterday.  The PAL website said '48 hours', but the One Health site said '72 hours'.  I am still a few days early!

JGF- thanks for that tip.  I was hoping to complete the Pass online using using a desktop.  That is a lot of data for a fat-thumbed person to enter on a phone, but I will use the mobile if it will avoid problems transferring the QR code to my phone later.  I never figured out how to do good desktop screenshots when using multiple monitors.

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, KC813 said:

I was hoping to complete the Pass online using using a desktop.

I used a laptop and printed out the QR code.  But even with a "high def" printout they had trouble scanning the code from the paper and that caused delays.  

[JJReyes]

While ordering our renewal prescriptions at Walmart, the pharmacist gave us 4 boxes each totaling 8 Covid 19 test kits.  They were free compliments of Medicare.  The accompanying paperwork states that each box (2 test kits) is $79.52.  That's the amount charged to Medicare.  The government was therefore billed $318.08 per member by a pharmaceutical company for test kits no one asked for or care to use, unless you contract Covid 19.  By the way, the medication needed is likewise free.  You or a family member shows your card to the pharmacist for the free medication.  

[JJReyes]

Starting next week, our Walmart pharmacist informed us they will have the 3rd booster Covid-19 shot available and we qualify.  The US government has ordered about 170 million dosages with a priority system as to who gets it first.  Older Americans are in the first group.  A little hesitation on my part after injections for Covid-19 (2nd booster), tetanus, shingles and flu.  Maybe I will wait a little bit.  There is no feeling of urgency as in the past.

[Dave Hounddriver]

7 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Starting next week, our Walmart pharmacist informed us they will have the 3rd booster Covid-19 shot available

Do you mean the original 2 plus 3 more?  I have had 2 + 2 so you are a shot ahead.

[JJReyes]

4 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Do you mean the original 2 plus 3 more?  I have had 2 + 2 so you are a shot ahead.

Yes.  The 3rd booster is for the variants that recently emerged.  We received our annual flu shot and the pharmacist speculated it may become the same for Covid.

[Guy F.]

5 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

 I have had 2 + 2 so you are a shot ahead.

Same here.