An official report stated that the global shortage of vaccines and their excess in the United States has quietly resulted in a new kind of tourism in the US.
Sources said many people across the world have been travelling to the United States to get shots of the Covid-19 vaccines, do some shopping and then fly back to their home country after a short stay. Some officials of San Francisco International Airport said that the sort of tourism also known as “vaccine tourism,” is concept represents the fastest-growing category of visitors to the SFO Medical Clinic, where the free Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine is administered.
The international airport in California is the first US airport to have released such data on vaccine tourism. The airport officials further said that “At present, 80 percent of new vaccine appointments at SFO are coming from non-US citizens, and over 1,000 doses have already been administered to visitors from 58 countries around the world,”
An official report further said that of these 1,000, only eight are from India. Countries like Taiwan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea and Peru are the top five countries on this vaccine tourism. Airport Director Ivar C Satero said “This trend truly represents a win-win situation for all,” He also said, “It ensures that vaccine doses do not go unused by making them available to those who may have trouble accessing it in their home country. It also stimulates travel and visitor spending for the Bay Area, and – most importantly – it helps protect against the community spread of the virus. My thanks go out to the entire team for making this program a reality,”
Since late May, the SFO Medical Clinic, located pre-security in the International Terminal, has offered free, single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines on an appointment basis.
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