Travelers who got vaccinated early last year may need to start examining the fine print within entry requirements for their next international trip.
Several locations have said that an initial vaccination series will only be valid for travel restrictions for a limited time — but the parameters vary. Some locales, including France and the county of Maui in Hawaii, are requiring a record of a booster to gather in public places.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people are eligible for an additional shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines five months after completing a two-shot series. For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, boosters are approved two months after the first shot. Children 12 and older can get a Pfizer booster; the others are only for adults. According to tracking data from The Washington Post, more than 84 million people have gotten a booster in the United States.
These are some of the destinations requiring additional doses, either to enter the country or participate in public activities.
To bypass quarantine rules when visiting Hawaii, domestic travelers need to be vaccinated. But as of Monday, visitors and locals aged 18 and older in Maui who want to bypass testing need to have a booster shot — once eligible — to access “higher-risk businesses and activities.” These include dining indoors, going to bars and working out at the gym.
A revised vaccine pass program France enacted Monday grants entrance to restaurants and bars, theaters, sports facilities, and other attractions to visitors and locals who are fully inoculated. Anyone who has proof of a positive test within the previous six months is also allowed to access those spaces.
For now, France requires people 16 and older to get a booster seven months after receiving the second dose of a two-course vaccine series to qualify for the pass. Starting Feb. 15, a booster will be required four months after vaccination, according to the U.S. Embassy in France.
The embassy says a booster is not required to be considered fully vaccinated for entry purposes.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Spain, U.S. citizens must have received their vaccine no more than 270 days, or nine months, before arriving in the country. If more than nine months have passed, “U.S. citizens must show proof of having received a booster shot at least 14 days prior to arrival in Spain,” the embassy says.
U.S. travelers need to be vaccinated to visit Switzerland. The Embassy of Switzerland in the U.S. says that until Jan. 31, a coronavirus vaccine certificate is valid for a year from the last dose. But that changes on Feb. 1, when the vaccine will be valid for only nine months.
Travelers entering Austria from the United States must be fully vaccinated and boosted or have proof of recent recovery to avoid any testing or quarantine requirements, according to the U.S. Embassy in Austria. Unvaccinated visitors are required to present a negative test and quarantine for 10 days.
The Austrian Embassy in the United States says vaccination certificates are valid for 270 days after the administration of the last dose. Those who receive a booster at least 120 days — roughly four months — after completing their original vaccination extend the validity of their status for another 270 days, starting on the day they got the booster.
Israel’s Ministry of Health says a traveler’s vaccination must have been completed no more than 180 days, or about six months, before the trip ends. Visitors who recently received a booster must wait at least 14 days after the shot before arriving in Israel.
