Where can you travel with mixed Covid-19 vaccine doses?
As more countries open up their borders to vaccinated travelers, questions are popping up about which countries accept different Covid-19 vaccines—and which countries accept a combination of doses.
Depending on the source country and destination, being “fully vaccinated” can in many cases exempt travelers from mandatory post-travel testing and quarantine. But while governments are trying to be inclusive in their approval systems, some have not yet clarified whether they consider passengers who took two different Covid-19 vaccines to be fully vaccinated. This is relevant for people in countries like the UK, Canada, and Thailand, which administered vaccines in mixed doses.
One country that does not currently accept mixed doses is the US. At the moment, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers “fully vaccinated” anyone who has taken two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson. A CDC spokesperson says that eased travel restrictions in November will add AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria and Covishield brands to that list; they have been administered in Canada, India, the EU, and several African countries, among others. But it’s still not clear if combinations of any of those vaccines will be accepted.
Countries that have administered Covid-19 vaccines in mixed doses are allowing international travelers who received their shots in a similar manner. The UK, for example, specified that it will recognized mixed doses in updated travel guidelines that come into effect Oct. 4.
Countries that allow travelers with mixed Covid-19 vaccines
Travel guidelines are constantly changing, but as of Sept. 27, these are the countries that will recognize international travelers with mixed vaccines as fully vaccinated.
Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news.
More stories from Quartz:
How to respond when a job interviewer says “Tell me about yourself”
A Canadian study of Covid-19 vaccine side effects contains a major mistake
