According to the new US travel policy, entry to those foreign nationals who have received one dose of two-dose vaccine after COVID-19 recovery will be blocked. 

On Friday, the US announced that borders to vaccinated travellers will be opened starting November 8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added that it would include “any combination of two doses” from two-shot vaccines. It was later confirmed by an agency spokesperson that those vaccinated with just one shot would be excluded, no matter if they have earlier recovered from COVID-19. 

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Recovery from COVID-19 has never been accepted by the US in its domestic definition of vaccination. It is mandatory for the residents to be inoculated with both shots of a two-dose vaccine or Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine to be considered fully vaccinated, whether or not they have contracted the virus. 

Restricting the entry of foreign nationals in the US may become a fresh point of tension between Washington and Europe and with France particularly.

The idea behind being fully vaccinated varied from country to country. In France and Norway, those who have received a single dose of a two-dose vaccine after recovering from COVID-19 are considered “fully vaccinated”. 

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People in Greece are considered fully immunised if they receive their first dose within six months of recovering from COVID-19. In Austria, those who have recovered from COVID and had one dose can wait a year before receiving their second shot and still be deemed vaccinated.

People who have recovered from COVID and got one dose of a vaccine within a year of testing positive will be issued a “green certificate,” which is required to work and visit most indoor events in Italy. The certificate is valid for a period of one year.

Some possibilities that have not yet been approved by domestic regulators are accommodated by the US policy. For example, starting on November 8, foreigners who have had two doses of any World Health Organization-authorized vaccination, including those that haven’t been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration, will be able to fly directly to the US.