Foreign citizens seek US-approved shots as travel resumes

As COVID-19 ravaged Hungary in April,
Budapest resident Akos Sipos received his second vaccine dose, believing he was
doing the right thing for his own health and to help end the pandemic.

Delhi gasps to breathe clean air while toxic foam floats on Yamuna

But Sipos, soon discovered that the vaccine
he received, Russia’s Sputnik V, disqualified him from traveling to a number of
other countries where it hadn’t been approved. The nations include the United
States, which is pushing forward with a new air travel policy that will make
Sipos and many like him ineligible to enter.

Starting Monday, the United States plans to
reopen to foreign travelers who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
But non-immigrant adults need to have received vaccines authorized by the FDA
or one approved by WHO for emergency use.

That leaves many travelers across the globe
scrambling to get reinoculated with shots approved by U.S. authorities.

Houston leaders seek clues for concert mishap that killed 8

People who got the required two shots of
vaccines that have not been approved yet are now looking to top up with shots
of the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, hoping
that will make them eligible to cross the border.

“They screwed those of us who got this
vaccine,” said Rosenda Ruiz, 52, a public relations manager in Mexico City who
received Sputnik V. “There are lots of Mexicans who want to travel, but we
can’t. I am thinking of getting whatever other vaccine I can get.”

While Sputnik V is used in around 70
countries worldwide, it has still not been approved by either the FDA or the
U.N. health agency.

8 dead, many injured at Astroworld Fest in Texas: Officials

Citizens of Russia, where use of Sputnik V
is most widespread, also are seeking Western-approved shots so they can travel
abroad. Faced with the prospect of being turned away from flights, Russians
have booked tours to Serbia, which has authorized use of the Pfizer-BioNTech,
China’s Sinopharm and the AstraZeneca vaccines in addition to Sputnik V.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the foreign
relations committee in the Russian Duma, has criticised the United States
decision and said “The effectiveness and safety of the Sputnik V vaccine
has been proven not only by specialists, but also by its practical
application.”

But the WHO still is reviewing the vaccine,
and months of holdups make it unclear when Sputnik V might receive an emergency
use listing.

Swedish House Mafia reunite for world tour, to collaborate with The Weeknd

Hungary’s government has made bilateral
agreements with 24 countries — including Russia, Serbia, Mongolia, Georgia, and
Kazakhstan — on mutually recognizing proof of vaccination, regardless of
vaccine type.

Sipos, the search engine specialist, said
that while he was confident in Sputnik V’s efficacy, he recently sought a
Western-approved booster shot, Moderna, so he could travel where he wants.