US joins China, Middle East in maintaining vaccine mandate

The Biden administration will continue to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination from foreign travelers entering the country, against CDC guidance. The US is currently the only Western country to still impose the mandate and is joined by China, Libya, Pakistan, Angola, Libya, Ghana, Cameroon, Liberia, Yemen, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. 

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), according to a Saturday report by the Daily Mail, is extending the mandate until January 8, 2023, in part so it can “limit the risk that Covid-19, including variants of the virus that cause COVID-19, is introduced, transmitted, and spread into and throughout the United States.” 

But even the medical establishment – including the CDC – admits the COVID injections do not stop transmission of the virus, which has been the sole justification for the mandate. 

“Our vaccines are working exceptionally well. They continue to work well for Delta with regard to severe illness and death,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in January. “They prevent it. . . . what they can’t do anymore is prevent transmission.” 

Furthermore, the CDC’s own guidance, published in August, recommends the vaccinated and unvaccinated be treated similarly without distinction. 

Non-US citizens who have not taken the injections will be allowed to to enter the US with a negative COVID-19 test. Those who are vaccinated need not test and may travel to the US even if infected with the virus. 

Joe Biden also appears to be still pushing the myth that the injections prevent transmission of the virus. 

“If you get it, you're protected,” Biden said in a speech last month. “And if you don't, you're putting yourself and other people at unnecessary risk.” 

As reported by America’s Frontline News, the CDC continues to advocate for the newly released COVID bivalent shots (targeting both the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2 and several currently dominant Omicron strains). The shots have had their effectiveness strongly challenged by two recent trial studies (here, and here) which suggested that the original monovalent shots are more protective against disease. 

Several universities in the United States have informed their students, both current and prospective, that booster injections are required for all students. 

Among the colleges to have made bivalent boosters mandatory are Harvard, Tufts, Wellesley, Yale, and Fordham.