UPDATE: The Biden administration finally lifted the testing requirement on June 12, 2022, but will reevaluate it after 90 days. While it is a big win to have this unnecessary (and utterly ineffective) rule lifted as of now, to have it potentially reinstated after 90 days is still unreasonable. Flights are currently very expensive because of airline fuel costs and to not be able to book months in advance with certainty (when costs are usually lower in the offseason) only continues to hinder international travel.
We did travel to Costa Rica while this testing was required and you can read about it here: Costa Rica May 2022. Hopefully we never have to deal with this testing again.
After two and a half years of ad-hoc, unscientific restrictions and policies, the time has come for life to return to normal with the full understanding that COVID-19 will remain an endemic virus forever.
Contact your senators and representatives and let them know you want an immediate end to the unnecessary restrictions that have been placed on international travel to the US. Contact members of both parties regardless of your political views.
- US land and sea borders remain wide open without testing requirements
- Vaccines have been readily available to all who have wanted them for 1.5 years
- Hospitalizations are very low nationwide and most of the population has acquired immunity either through natural infection by Omicron and its BA2 sub-variant or vaccines
- The tests are an expensive hassle for travelers and could result in being stranded overseas
- The airlines, which were already severely harmed by the pandemic, are now facing rising fuel prices while still losing business because of the unnecessary tests. They may end up being bankrupted and requiring taxpayer bailouts while this unnecessary policy acts as a drag on their businesses.
- There are no restrictions on gathering in crowds all throughout the US and the air quality of airplanes is actually better than that of any other indoor environment
- The existing tests have failed to stop the spread of covid into the US or any other country
- Almost all other 1st-world countries including nearly the entirety of Europe, Canada, Latin America, etc have ceased testing and dropped most or all covid restrictions