The United States will end the covid-19 vaccination requirement for international travelers later this month. The vaccination requirements for US government employees will also expire on that date, the White House reports.
“Today we are announcing that the government will end vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors and international air travelers by the end of the day on May 11, the same day the Covid-19 public health emergency ends,” it says. White House in a statement.
The administration of US President Joe Biden announced in January that the emergency, which was declared in March 2020 by then-President Donald Trump, will end on May 11. Millions of Americans received free vaccinations, corona tests and hospital treatment during the pandemic. Once the emergency has officially ended, the government will no longer cover these costs everywhere.
According to the White House statement, since January 2021, COVID-19 deaths have decreased by 95 percent and hospitalizations have declined by nearly 91 percent. Globally, deaths from covid-19 are at their lowest level since the start of the pandemic. “While I believe mandatory vaccination has had a hugely beneficial impact and has saved millions of lives, we have now come to a point where we think it makes a lot of sense to remove these requirements,” said the covid-19 coordinator. of the White House, Dr. Ashish Jha.
More than 1.13 million dead
More than 1.13 million people in the US have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began more than three years ago, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Also in the last week of April, 1,052 people died from the virus. That was the lowest weekly death toll from the virus since March 2020.
More than 270 million people in the US, representing just over 81 percent of the population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC. Vaccination readiness for a booster is significantly lower in the US. Only 17 percent in the US have now received a booster against the infectious omicron variant available since September 2022. “Our goal is still to encourage people to continue getting vaccinated, just like with the annual flu shot,” said Jha.
According to the White House, there are also plans to stop compulsory vaccination at certain educational and healthcare institutions, among others. The White House says it will provide more details in the coming days.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.