Biden Administration May Soon Reportedly Require All US-Bound Travelers to Be Fully Vaccinated

Current restrictions implemented by the US amid the COVID-19 pandemic have seen travel limitation imposed on individuals transiting from countries including China, the UK, Brazil and South Africa, among several other nations.

The White House is reportedly weighing the possibility of mandating that all visitors to the United States be fully vaccinated, marking the latest efforts by the Biden administration to clamp down on rising COVID-19 cases.

Citing an unidentified White House official, Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Biden White House is "developing a plan" that would require all US-bound foreign travelers to verify that they have indeed been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The mandate would reportedly be in exchange for eventually lifting travel restrictions currently in place for certain countries. The official described the efforts as "a phased approach that over time will mean, with limited exceptions, that foreign nationals traveling to the United States [from all countries] need to be fully vaccinated."

At present, CDC travel restrictions have been implemented for travelers coming from China, Iran, the UK, Brazil, South Africa and India. Additionally, various European nations such as Austria, Germany, France and Italy have been outlined under COVID-19 travel limitations. 

However, the White House official did relay to the outlet that the Biden administration is not entirely ready to lift travel restrictions on account of the rising COVID-19 cases, which have been skyrocketing in states like Florida and Texas. In fact, both states have been accounting for one-third of all of the US' latest spike in novel coronavirus cases.

The COVID-19 delta variant is presently accounting for the majority of cases across the US, with figures placing it in the ballpark of 93% of infections. The highly-contagious strain, which was first reported in India in October 2020, became the most dominant variant within the US within a span of just two months.