U.S. land border to reopen to fully vaccinated Canadians in November

Fully vaccinated Canadians will be allowed to drive into the United States beginning in early November.

The Biden administration said its land borders and ports of entry to non-essential travel will reopen next month for Canada and Mexico.

The border has been closed for nearly 20 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins shared the news in a statement on Twitter.

“At long last, there is action by the United States to open the doors and welcome back our Canadian neighbours,” Higgins said. “Border communities await further details from the administration with great expectation, and I will continue to advocate for a more fully and freely open border to both governments, sooner rather than later.”

Travellers will be considered to be fully vaccinated if they have received a full course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization, which includes Oxford-AstraZeneca, a common vaccine in Canada that never received FDA approval.

It is still not known if those who received mixed doses of vaccines will be eligible.

Proof of a negative COVID-19 test will not be required to enter the U.S. by land or sea, provided travellers meet the vaccination requirement.

Officials say non-essential travel to the U.S. by unvaccinated foreign nationals will remain prohibited.

The U.S. also plans to allow fully vaccinated visitors from a host of countries where stateside travel has long been restricted, including China, India, Ireland, Iran, South Africa, and Brazil starting in November.