A senior administration official said the requirement, which
the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers
in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers,
when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals.
Essential travelers entering by ferry will also be required
to be fully vaccinated by the same date, the official said. The official spoke
to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to preview the
announcement.
The rules pertain to non-U.S. nationals. American citizens
and permanent residents may still enter the U.S. regardless of their
vaccination status, but face additional testing hurdles because officials
believe they more easily contract and spread COVID-19 and in order to encourage
them to get a shot.
The Biden administration pushed back the requirement for
essential travelers by more than two months from when it went into effect on
Nov. 8 for non-essential visitors to prevent disruptions, particularly among
truck drivers who are vital to North American trade. While most cross-border traffic
was shut down in the earliest days of the pandemic, essential travelers have
been able to transit unimpeded.
Even with the delay, though, Norita Taylor, spokeswoman for
the trucking group Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, criticized the
vaccination requirement, calling it an example of “how unnecessary government
mandates can force experienced owner-operators and independent truckers out of
business.”
“These requirements are another example of how impractical
regulations will send safe drivers off the road,” she said.
The latest deadline is beyond the point by which the Biden
administration hopes to have large businesses require their employees to be
vaccinated or tested weekly under an emergency regulation issued by the
Occupational Health and Safety Administration. That rule is now delayed by
litigation, but the White House has encouraged businesses to implement their
own mandates regardless of the federal requirement with the aim of boosting
vaccination.
About 47 million adults in the U.S. remain unvaccinated,
according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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