YOU DECIDE: Should Foreign Travelers Who Aren’t Vaccinated Against COVID-19 be Denied Entry to the United States?
Novak Djokovic, the Serbian twenty-one-time Grand Slam tennis champion, is not competing in this year’s U.S. Open. Why? Because he’s not vaccinated against COVID-19. According to current U.S. regulations, any non-U.S. citizen must be fully vaccinated in order to enter the country. (Djokovic was also unable to participate in the Australian Open and was deported from that country due to his unvaccinated status.) Only children under eighteen, people with documented medical issues, people on official government travel, and members of the U.S. armed forces are exempt from this rule. Anyone else must show proof of vaccination to enter the United States. What do you think? Should foreign travelers who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 be denied entry to the United States?
YES
- These rules exist to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 within the United States. Scientists estimate that an unvaccinated person is twenty times more likely to spread the disease than a vaccinated one.
- The United States has an economic responsibility to limit its citizens’ COVID-19 exposure. The economic burden of lost wages alone is approaching $200 billion per year.
- Furthermore, the U.S. health care system spends about $13.8 billion every six months treating unvaccinated people.
- These rules are universal and apply to all travelers. That’s fairer than the previous method, which varied country by country–allowing some travelers to enter but not others.
NO
- Not all countries have equal access to COVID-19 vaccines. In some nations, such as Haiti and Yemen, the vaccination rate is under then percent. The U.S. regulation discriminates against travelers from countries such as these.
- As vaccinations are adopted, the pandemic’s threat trajectory is decreasing. So, this policy is no longer critically needed.
- As of July 2022, about 227.8 million Americans–about seventy percent–are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. It is unfair to require people from other countries to vaccinate when it is not required of American citizens.
- The U.S. is suffering from an unprecedented labor shortage, especially in the food service and hospitality industries. We should welcome more noncitizens into the country to help relieve the labor shortage.