Foreign citizens seek US-approved shots as travel resumes

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FILE - Workers spot a container containing doses of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V into a refrigerated instrumentality aft unloading it from a plane, astatine the Simon Bolivar International Airport successful Maiquetia, Venezuela, Feb. 13, 2021. On Monday, the U.S. volition instrumentality a caller aerial question argumentation to let successful overseas citizens who person completed a people of a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration oregon the World Health Organization. That leaves radical successful Mexico, Hungary, Russia and elsewhere who received the non-approved Russian Sputnik V vaccine oregon the China-produced CanSino vaccine ineligible to committee U.S.-bound flights. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

BUDAPEST – As COVID-19 ravaged Hungary successful April, Budapest nonmigratory Akos Sipos received his 2nd vaccine dose, believing helium was doing the close happening for his ain wellness and to assistance extremity the pandemic.

But Sipos, 46, soon discovered that the vaccine helium received, Russia's Sputnik V, disqualified him from traveling to a fig of different countries wherever it hadn't been approved. The nations see the United States, which is pushing guardant with a caller aerial question argumentation that volition marque Sipos and galore similar him ineligible to enter.

“I thought it’s amended to get Sputnik contiguous than a Western vaccine astatine immoderate uncertain aboriginal time," Sipos, who works arsenic a hunt motor optimization specialist, said of his archetypal determination to person the jab. "But I couldn’t person known astatine that clip that I wouldn’t beryllium capable to question with Sputnik.”

Starting Monday, the United States plans to reopen to overseas travelers who are afloat vaccinated against the coronavirus. But there's a catch: non-immigrant adults request to person received vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration oregon which received an exigency usage listing from the World Health Organization.

That leaves galore hopeful travelers crossed the globe who taken afloat courses of vaccines wide utilized successful different parts of the satellite — Sputnik V and the China-produced CanSino jab, successful peculiar — scrambling to get reinoculated with shots approved by U.S. authorities.

Two different Chinese vaccines, Sinopharm and Sinovac, person been approved by the WHO and volition frankincense beryllium accepted for question into the U.S.

Mexico received astir 12 cardinal doses of CanSino and astir 20 cardinal of Sputnik V aft shipments began earlier this year. Residents who got the required 2 shots of those vaccines present are looking to apical up with shots of the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca oregon Johnson & Johnson vaccines, hoping that volition marque them eligible to transverse the border.

“They screwed those of america who got this vaccine,” said Rosenda Ruiz, 52, a nationalist relations manager successful Mexico City who received Sputnik V. “There are tons of Mexicans who privation to travel, but we can’t. I americium reasoning of getting immoderate different vaccine I tin get.”

While Sputnik V is utilized successful astir 70 countries worldwide, it has inactive not been approved by either the FDA oregon the U.N. wellness agency. Nearly 1 cardinal radical person received the vaccine successful Hungary, a Central European state of astir 10 million.

Hungary was 1 of lone 2 countries successful the 27-member European Union to rotation retired the Russian vaccine. Fewer than 20,000 radical received it successful Slovakia.

Judit Molnar, president of the Association of Hungarian Travel Agencies, says truthful galore Hungarians being incapable to question to the United States — oregon adjacent to immoderate countries successful the EU which don't judge the jab — has had an effect connected her industry.

“We spot that successful the past fewer months, travelers are progressively asking america erstwhile they tin question to America," said Molnar, who is besides president of the OTP Travel agency.

"These travelers are saying they truly anticipation the concern volition alteration and that the United States volition judge the Sputnik vaccine. There are galore radical who would similar to question and successful Hungary, galore radical were vaccinated with Sputnik,” she said.

Citizens of Russia, wherever usage of Sputnik V is astir widespread, besides are seeking Western-approved shots truthful they tin question abroad. Faced with the imaginable of being turned distant from flights, Russians person booked tours to Serbia, which has authorized usage of the Pfizer-BioNTech, China's Sinopharm and the AstraZeneca vaccines successful summation to Sputnik V.

Russia, which unveiled Sputnik V with overmuch fanfare arsenic the world's archetypal registered vaccine successful August 2020, criticized U.S. plans to permission the vaccine disconnected its database of approved shots.

“There are precisely zero reasons for specified decisions," Leonid Slutsky, president of the overseas relations committee successful the Russian Duma, oregon little location of parliament. "The effectiveness and information of the Sputnik V vaccine has been proven not lone by specialists, but besides by its applicable application.”

But the World Health Organization still is reviewing the vaccine, and months of holdups marque it unclear erstwhile Sputnik V mightiness person an exigency usage listing.

Hungary's authorities has made bilateral agreements with 24 countries — including Russia, Serbia, Mongolia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan — connected mutually recognizing impervious of vaccination, careless of vaccine type.

Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Associated Press that it is unfastened to a akin statement with the United States, but “currently determination is nary ongoing negotiation."

Sipos, the hunt motor specialist, said that portion helium was assured successful Sputnik V’s efficacy, helium precocious sought a Western-approved booster shot, Moderna, truthful helium could question wherever helium wants.

“I felt deceived due to the fact that they judge Sputnik successful much than 60 countries successful the world, but successful tons of different countries they don’t,” helium said.

Silvia Morales, 38, a nationalist precocious schoolhouse teacher successful Monterrey, Mexico, said she precocious received a Moderna changeable aft proceeding that the U.S. authorities wouldn’t admit her CanSino vaccine.

She said she “needed to person bid of mind” astir her level of extortion against the virus.

“But I besides emotion traveling to the United States," she said.

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Marcos Martínez Chacón successful Monterrey, Mexico, and Jim Heintz successful Moscow, contributed to this report.

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