May 5, 2021
What should I do if I’m in the U.S., but I got my first COVID-19 vaccine in another country?
Each spring, Susana travels from Mexico to the United States to spend eight months packing seafood with an H-2B visa. This March, Susana was preparing for her journey to the United States when she was invited to get a Sputnik V vaccine at a community vaccination event in her hometown in Mexico. Susana chose to get her first dose to protect herself and her community against COVID-19. But before she could get her second dose, she was called to work in the United States. When she arrived at her work site, Susana found that although the local vaccine clinic offers other kinds of vaccines, the Sputnik vaccine is not available in the United States. Susana would like to be fully vaccinated, but she is not sure what options are available to her.
Although COVID-19 vaccines are becoming widely available around the world, not all countries have approved the same vaccines or vaccination procedures. In the United States, the vaccines currently approved for use (as of April 28, 2021) are Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. Although AstraZeneca is not approved for use in the United States, it has been approved for use internationally by the World Health Organization. Several others — like Sputnik V, CanSino, and Sinovac — have been approved by some countries, including Mexico.
To address the challenges faced by people like Susana, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has shared new guidance for people in the U.S. who received one or two vaccine doses in another country. The CDC are the official source of information on COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. We have summarized the CDC’s recommendations here:
This guidance is subject to change with time and as we learn more about different vaccines. For your safety, it is important to consult with a healthcare professional and share your COVID-19 vaccination history before deciding to get re-vaccinated.
If you are not sure whether you should get vaccinated while in the U.S., or if you have any other questions about your work in the U.S., contact the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc. (CDM). You can call us toll-free from Mexico at 800-590-1773, and toll-free from the U.S. at 855-234-9699. To speak with someone in Mixteco you can call us toll-free at 953-554-0517. All assessments are completely free and confidential.