Senior U.S. officials announced on Tuesday, October 12, a plan to begin reopening the land borders, which have been closed for non-essential travel since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

From November, those travelling for non-essential reasons will need to present proof of vaccination at the border. Those who have not been fully vaccinated will not be allowed to travel for non-essential purposes.

The Department of Homeland Security announced that the changes will take place in two phases over the next few months.

An exact date for the reopening has not yet been determined, and a number of details are still being worked out, including the type of documentation that will be accepted to prove a traveller’s vaccination status.

The U.S. is also awaiting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about travellers who received mixed doses of COVID-19 vaccines or the AstraZeneca vaccine. The U.S. has not approved the mixing of vaccine doses or the AstraZeneca vaccine for its own residents.

It is expected that the CDC will recommend the acceptance of air travellers who have been inoculated with any vaccine approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, which includes AstraZeneca. Experts have suggested that a similar rule should be expected at land crossings.

The updated regulations reflect the growing uptake in vaccinations across North America; nearly 263 million people in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are now fully vaccinated.