Foreign truckers must be vaccinated to enter US

From Transport Topics.

Starting Jan. 22, travelers entering the United States at land ports of entry — notably along the Canadian and Mexican borders — and ferry points who are not U.S. citizens must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security announced.

The requirement, which takes effect at 12 a.m. ET that day, does not apply to U.S. drivers. However, Canada and Mexico have similar regulations in place that do impact U.S. drivers — including truck drivers — who make cross-border runs.

The DHS announcement was released late on Jan. 20, and was one that the trucking industry had been anticipating, noted American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello.

“It applies to all Canadian and Mexican drivers,” he said. “I’m not too concerned about the Mexican drivers — the Mexican drayage drivers — they’re vaccinated at a pretty high rate. For the Canadian drivers, they now have to be fully vaccinated to get back into their country to go home. So they’re not going to come here if they’re not vaccinated.”

In a letter to ATA members, Costello outlined some of the details.

“Foreign national drivers will be required to demonstrate proof of being fully vaccinated as outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” he said. “Fully vaccinated means having two doses of an acceptable vaccine two weeks prior to entry into the U.S. or one dose of an acceptable vaccine that only requires a single dose, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, two weeks prior to entry,” Costello said. “There is no testing requirement to enter the U.S.; however, those who have symptoms may be referred to the CDC for a medical evaluation.”

See the complete article online at Transport Topics.