Thought of the Day - November 9 2021 - The Border is Open!

Well after 20 months the Canada-US-Mexico borders are now open for "non-essential" land/sea crossings.

Canadians wishing to enter the US will need proof of vaccination. The Canadian government figured out the approach to national vaccine documentation last month and the out-of-spec provinces scrambled to issue just in time ( Thought of the Day - October 26 2021 - Canada's Vaccine Passport Standard ).

The US currently accepts the following vaccinations:

• Janssen/J&J - unbranded

• BioNTech/Pfizer - Comeblarnatiy-whatever

• Moderna - Spikevac

• AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria & Covishield)

As well as these WHO-approved vaccinations, that are not yet acceptable for entry to Canada:

• Bharat - Covaxin

• Sinopharm - CorV

• Sinovac - Coronavac

The US government also decided to have the same requirements for travel from Mexico (people from Mexico also need to have a valid US tourist visa.) Ironically US citizens do not require vaccination to travel to Mexico or return to the US.

Thus Canada now has more restrictions than the US. First, as mentioned above, we have a shorter list of acceptable vaccines - bummer if you are trying to get to Canada from China or India. Second, Canada continues to require a full PCR test; rapid tests are not acceptable ( Thought of the Day - October 29 2021 - Travel Tip from the Premiere ). The US does not require any test unless you are travelling by air ( Thought of the Day - September 8 2021 - Does Mass Testing Still Matter? ). I guess as the main news stories over the next few days will be the border line-ups, why not leave the testing deterrent in place for the time being.

Cheers

Cliff