Hi there,

Heads up! The United States now requires a negative covid test for all travelers entering the country by air, negative within 72 hours of their inbound flight. To get the latest, most accurate information please watch check the CDC website directly. If you're thinking of leaving the US this will apply to you upon coming home.

I thought you might be interested in the status of covid19 vaccines in our neighbors to the south, and the types of vaccine each country is using.

Ecuador

Two million Pfizer vaccines will arrive in Ecuador on March, with a first batch of fifty thousand doses arriving on January 18th for front-line personnel. The March delivery will be used for firefighters, teachers, military forces, the police, people with serious chronic illness, senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Peru

The first batch of 1 million Sinopharm vaccines will arrive in February from China. Peru's government is currently negotiating with China for a larger batch of 38 million vaccines.

Brazil

No dates have been set for a vaccination program in Brazil as of right now.

Bolivia

A batch of 5.2 million vaccines, the Sputnik V, will arrive from Russia in March. No details about how these are to be distributed are currently publicized.

Argentina

Argentina has received its first 300,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia and has begun distribution to its citizens. As of this moment, Argentina has the most vaccinated citizens of any Latin America country.

Chile

As of now Chile has vaccinated 21,700 people with the Pfizer vaccine. 80% of the population is expected to be vaccinated by the first of the summer.

All of Latin America has travel restrictions and testing requirements, and a few of them currently have quarantine requirements for citizens arriving from other countries.

Finally - I continue to believe that some travel suppliers (airlines, land tour groups, and cruise lines) will eventually require proof of Covid vaccination before you can travel, along with pre-trip covid testing. I may be wrong, but all the signs are there. I think this will come to pass in the coming months. We'll see how it plays out.

Sue P.

Travel Changes Life