U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur Health Alert: COVID-19 Vaccination requirement for travel to the United States

U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur Health Alert: COVID-19 Vaccination requirement for travel to the United States

On October 25, 2021, the White House issued a Presidential Proclamation with details regarding the new travel policy requiring foreign nationals traveling to the United States to demonstrate proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, which will take effect November 8.  

Please note that the requirement for all air travelers to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 remains in effect as well. 

Additional information and FAQs for travelers to the United States are available on the Department of State’s website here and on the CDC’s website here. 

Travel Requirements for U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) 

While U.S. citizens and LPRs are not subject to the Presidential Proclamation requiring COVID-19 vaccination for air travelers to the United States, pre-travel COVID-19 testing requirements continue to apply as follows: 

  • If you are fully vaccinated: Proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 3 days before travel.
  • If you are NOT fully vaccinated: A negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 1 day before travel.

For more information on requirements for U.S. citizens and LPRs travelers, please visit the CDC’s website here. 

Accepted Vaccines 

For the purposes of entry into the United States, the accepted vaccines include FDA approved or authorized and WHO Emergency Use Listing vaccines.  For a full list of accepted vaccines, please see the CDC’s website here.  

Per the CDC’s website, the CDC has not recommended the use of mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine primary series. However, such strategies are increasingly common in many countries outside of the United States. Therefore, for the of purpose of interpreting vaccination records for travel to the United States, CDC will accept combinations of accepted COVID-19 vaccines.

Acceptable Proof of Vaccination 

The CDC’s website describes acceptable proof of vaccination.  Digital records (such as vaccination records in the MySejahtera app) are included on the list of acceptable vaccination documentation provided that the following criteria are met: 

  • Personal identifiers (at a minimum, full name and date of birth) that match the personal identifiers on the passenger’s passport or other travel documents
  • Name of official source issuing the record (e.g., public health agency, government agency, or other authorized vaccine provider)
  • Vaccine manufacturer and date(s) of vaccination

Exceptions from Vaccination Requirement 

There are a very limited set of exceptions from the vaccination requirement for foreign nationals.  For detailed information on these  exceptions, please review the guidance in the White House Fact Sheet and on the CDC’s website. 

Minor Children 

Per the October 25 White House announcement, children under 18 are exempted from the vaccination requirement for foreign national travelers.  However, children between the ages of 2 and 17 are required to take a pre-departure COVID-19 test. If traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, an unvaccinated child can test three days prior to departure (consistent with the timeline for fully vaccinated adults).  If an unvaccinated child is traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults, they will have to test within one day of departure.

General COVID-19 Information  

For more information regarding COVID-19 in Malaysia, please review the following resources: