Americans living abroad are returning to the United States to receive their coronavirus vaccinations amid frustrations with delays in the rollout of the shots around the world.
Several Americans are choosing to make the trip back to the US rather than waiting for admission in places like Europe, where the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this month the vaccinations have been implemented. “Unacceptably slow.”
Distribution problems have been exacerbated by the temporary suspension in several countries of the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University following concerns about rare blood clots.
While a European Medicines Agency (EMA) safety committee earlier this month insisted that the benefits of getting the AstraZeneca injection outweigh the potential risks, noting that there was a ‘possible link’ between the vaccine and brain blood clots, some countries recommended against the injection for younger age groups, who have seen the most cases of blood clots.
This week, Denmark has become the first European country stop permanently distribution of the AstraZeneca injection after the country’s health authority said the vaccine had “real and serious side effects”.
Chloe Zeitounian, a 32-year-old American actor living in London, said The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Saturday that she decided to travel to the US earlier this month to avoid the AstraZeneca shot, which is not approved for emergency use in the US
“I’ve definitely seen people talk about vaccine tourism,” Zeitounian said. “That’s actually what I did.”
Zeitounian, who received a dose of the Moderna vaccine and plans to return on a business trip later this year for the second dose if she doesn’t get it in the UK first, is one of many expats noted by the Journal and who decided to come to the US after President Biden
Joe BidenSuspect used two assault rifles he legally bought in FedEx shootings: US Police, China Say They Are ‘Committed’ To Climate Change Cooperation DC Goes To The Dogs – Major And Champ, That’s MORE set April 19 as the date when all American adults would be eligible for the vaccine.
Cheryl Walling, a 61-year-old retiree in Spain, said of her fellow Arizona citizens, “They are being vaccinated right and left.”
“I’m jealous. I’m so jealous,” Walling told The Journal.
Meanwhile, some Americans living abroad are reluctant to return to the US for fear it will make it difficult for them to receive “vaccine passports” in the country where they live.
This is because conservatives in the US have argued against requiring vaccine passports, claiming they infringe people’s right to privacy and the choice to get vaccinated, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ron DeSantisSunday shows preview: Russia, US exchange sanctions; tensions over police action are growing; vaccination campaign continues by US expats returning to US to get COVID-19 shots Oddsmakers say Harris, not Biden, most likely to win 2024 nomination, election MORE (R) earlier this month issue an executive order a ban on the passport requirements for the coronavirus vaccine in the state.
Friday, about 24 percent of the U.S. population, or about 80 million people, will be fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)