At the end of 2022, in the Daily Sceptic, I published the first survey of which countries still required COVID-19 vaccines for entry. There followed two updates in January and April of 2023. Finally, with the conclusion that we were ‘nearly there’ I published the last in the series in May 2023.
As we embark on 2025, and now that Covid is all over bar the shouting – and the inquiries, the backlog of NHS appointments, the vaccine harmed and sectors of the economy that may never recover – I thought it might be worthwhile checking to see if any of the countries that maintained Covid vaccine requirements in the middle of 2023 were still doing so.
I am pleased to say that the outcome is very positive with very few countries even mentioning Covid vaccines in their entry requirements. There is the usual range of countries which maintain Yellow Fever vaccinations and the Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands have requirements regarding MMR or measles vaccination. The former says: “To enter the Marshall Islands, you must show proof children aged four and under have had the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine”; and the latter says: “You must have a certificate to prove you’ve had a measles vaccination if you’re travelling from Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea or the Philippines (excluding transit passengers).”
Mozambique says: “There are no COVID-19 testing or vaccination requirements for travellers entering Mozambique”; while Palau, strangely, says: “There are no COVID-19 testing or vaccination requirements for travellers entering Palau, although the entry form will ask whether you are vaccinated.”
Myanmar says: “Travellers will be expected to complete a short health declaration in relation to the mpox [monkeypox] virus on arrival.” If anyone is brave enough to go to Myanmar he is unlikely, if asked, to affirm that he has mpox just as nobody in the history of air travel has ever responded ‘Yes’ to the question “Are you carrying any packages for anyone?” or said ‘No’ to the question “Did you pack your bags yourself?” In any case, as a recent article in the New Humanitarian suggests, the Myanmar junta may have more important things to think about than mpox.
So, Covid vaccine related travel restrictions are largely a thing of the past. But there is always one joker in every pack. And the joker in relation to Covid vaccine related travel restrictions is Turkmenistan, which says: “While Turkmenistan doesn’t require COVID-19 vaccination, all travellers must undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival, which costs about 31 US dollars.”
It is hard to figure out why any country would still be requiring a Covid test for entry, but it probably boils down to someone in the Turkmenistan equivalent of the NHS over-ordering Covid tests. Described by Wikipedia as a country “widely criticised for its poor human rights, including for its treatment of minorities, and its lack of press and religious freedoms” it is also hard to imagine that too many people will be queuing up at the Turkmenistan border to shell out $31 for a Covid test.
Dr. Roger Watson is Professor of Nursing at Saint Francis University, Hong Kong SAR, China. He has a PhD in biochemistry. He writes in a personal capacity.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.