EU officially approves entry for vaccinated travelers

The European Union gave final approval on Thursday to entry for vaccinated travelers.

The European Council said in a statement that it adopted the European Commission’s recommendations on non-essential travel to member states.

The council said the changes come amid “ongoing vaccination campaigns by introducing certain waivers for vaccinated persons and easing the criteria to lift restrictions for third countries.”

However, it accounts for the risks posed by new variants by setting an “emergency brake mechanism to quickly react to the emergence of a variant of interest or concern in a third country.”

The EU recommends member states lifting restrictions on travelers from outside who have been fully vaccinated — meaning they received their last required dose at least 14 days prior to travel.

Travelers would have to be inoculated with vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency, which are two-dose vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, as well as Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine.

Countries could also accept travelers who had been vaccinated with shots approved by the World Health Organization, which include those vaccines and a vaccine from Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

The EU recommends allowing residents from countries reporting 75 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 14 days, an increase from 25.

However, the EU said if cases are worsening in particular “third countries,” then member states should adopt temporary restrictions on all travel, representing the “emergency brake.” This would not apply to EU citizens, long-term residents and certain essential travelers.