Vaccinated Americans may travel to Europe this Summer

USPA NEWS - Next Summer, Americans vaccinated against COVID-19 with one of the sera approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be able to travel to the European Union without restrictions, as announced by the President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, in an interview with The New York Times. "Americans, as far as I know, use vaccines that are approved by the European Medicines Agency," Von der Leyen told the New York newspaper. "This will allow them to travel and move freely."

Because "one thing is clear," in the opinion of the president of the European Council: "The 27 member states will accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines approved by the EMA." The EMA has approved the vaccines developed by the pharmaceutical companies Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson, the three that are being administered in the United States.

It will be the member countries of the European Union who decide from what date American tourists will be able to enter their territories. That date will depend on the development of the vaccination plans that are being developed in the EU. The United States will achieve the so-called "herd immunity" - 70% of its vaccinated population - in mid-June, according to forecasts by the US health authorities. But in Europe, the pace is different.

In Spain, for example, only ten million people, out of a total of 47 million, have been vaccinated so far with at least one dose of serum. The Spanish Government maintains its forecast that, in July, 70% of the Spanish population will be vaccinated. But this will depend on whether there are sufficient doses of vaccine available for administration. Four months after the start of the vaccination process, it seems unlikely that Spain will achieve herd immunity - 32 million people vaccinated - this Summer.

But European countries are impatient to recover the tourist activity that has produced such good economic results on the continent. As part of the measures promoted to recover tourism, the European Commission hopes to have the 'vaccination passport' at the beginning of next June, so that it can be used at the end of that month. The passport, a digital document that will show that its owner is vaccinated and immune to COVID-19, will allow Europeans to travel to other countries in complete safety and without restrictions.

The European Commission has given member countries freedom to purchase other vaccines, in addition to those approved by the EMA. The Russian Sputnik V and the Chinese Sinopharm are the best placed for distribution in Europe. All this, with the aim of accelerating the immunization of Europeans.