QCOSTARICA – Costa Ricans or foreigners who wish to go as tourists to the United States, will be able to enter without problem if they have the complete vaccination scheme against covid-19, even with the mixture of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
This was confirmed on Friday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the national public health agency of the United States, which cleared up any doubts about this scenario with a view to the opening of leisure travel for European and foreign travelers, starting in November.
Costa Ricans could already travel to the United States weeks ago with a full two-dose vaccination schedule from Pfizer; as well as a negative PCR or antigen test and a valid passport and visa.
However, the CDC did not refer to full mixed dose vaccinations.
In its interpretation of Friday’s immunization records, the CDC states that it has not recommended the use of heterologous (ie combined) primary series.
However, it states that the use of such strategies (including mixing mRNA, adenovirals, and mRNA plus adenoviral products) is increasingly common in many countries outside of the United States.
“Therefore, for the purposes of interpreting vaccination records, individuals can be considered fully vaccinated within two weeks after receiving the last dose if they have received a single dose of a single dose series approved/authorized by the FDA or WHO approved (including the Janssen vaccine), or any combination of two doses from a two dose series of covid-19 approved/authorized by the FDA or listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization”.
Under these rules, the official United States agency recognizes vaccination combinations.
The agency added that the recommended interval between the first and second doses of vaccines approved or authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and listed by WHO varies depending on the type of vaccine.
“However, for the purposes of vaccine record interpretation, the second dose of a heterologous two-dose series must not have been received earlier than 17 days (21 days with a 4-day grace period) after the first dose,” it clarified.
Read more: U.S. to lift restrictions Nov 8 for vaccinated foreign travelers
The US will lift Covid-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors starting November 8.