From Armenia to Croatia: where and how to go for a foreign vaccine

Vaccination tours abroad began to appear with tour operators in September 2021. Among the companies that offer them are Russian Express, Pac Group, VEDI Group, BSI Group, lists Maya Lomidze, executive DIRECTOR of the Association of Tour Operators of RUSSIA (ATOR). For the vaccine, people go mainly to Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Armenia. Among the countries where Russians can also receive one of the foreign vaccines approved by the World HEALTH Organization, ATOR also named Slovenia and Germany. Russian Express also offers tours to Turkey, which since 2022 has allowed foreigners to be vaccinated with vaccines available in the country, including the WHO-approved Pfizer/BioNTech drug.

The motives of tourists who go to be vaccinated abroad are different - someone wants to get a specific vaccine, for example, Pfizer, others don’t care what it will be, they are interested in a certificate that will allow them to travel more freely, notes Andrey Sivitsky, CEO of Cosmos Travel.

Russian vaccination certificates are not yet recognized in Europe, as is the Sputnik V drug itself (with the exception of some countries), therefore, in order to access many countries, you need to be vaccinated with a foreign vaccine. Fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the European Agency can enter the EU: Moderna, Pfizer, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), ASTRAZENECA, Nuvaxovid. EU Member States may also decide whether to allow entry of a person vaccinated with one of the medicines registered by WHO for emergency use.

By January 20, WHO approved ten vaccines, in addition to those already listed, these are Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac, Indian Covaxin and Covishield, and Covovax. Entry without regard to immune status is possible only from a limited number of countries where the situation with CORONAVIRUS has improved markedly. The list is reviewed every two weeks depending on the epidemiological situation. Russia is not among these countries. To enter the US, you must be fully vaccinated with one of the vaccines on the WHO list.

Within the EU itself, there is a system of digital certificates (EU Digital covid Certificate). It can be obtained by citizens of EU countries or third-country nationals who legally live or are in the EU and have the right to travel to other EU member states. Certificate holders have the right to move freely without testing and quarantine. The use of a certificate within a country for other purposes (for example, when visiting public places) is at the discretion of the government, provided that this is not contrary to law. Such a certificate is issued on the basis of vaccination, a negative test, or a history of coronavirus. In addition, the EU decided to recognize as equivalent certificates that are issued in 33 countries on a reciprocal basis. These countries include Moldova, Montenegro,

The most popular are short vaccine tours for the weekend, said Anna Filatovskaya, a representative of the Russian Express tour operator. Such a tour includes flights, hotel accommodation, standard medical insurance, transfers and the procedure itself, which is different in each country. Information on how vaccine tours to different countries are organized and what vaccines can be obtained there is available on the websites of tour operators (for example, Pac Group or Russian Express). So, in Greece, the vaccine component includes an appointment at the clinic on a certain date, transfer to the place of vaccination and back, as well as escort, Filatovskaya explained. In Croatia, the tour operator can only provide a transfer to the place of vaccination, in Serbia - a transfer to the place of vaccination and an appointment for it.