WASHINGTON — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added 16 more travel destinations around the world that the agency says has a 'very high' COVID-19 risk.
The health agency first and foremost urges that all travelers get fully vaccinated before even considering international travel.
On Monday, the CDC added the following destinations to their 'very high' COVID-19 risk list: Ireland, Saint Martin, Kazakhstan, Andorra, Curaçao, Gibraltar, Greece, Guadeloupe, Iran, Isle of Man, U.S. Virgin Islands, Libya, Saint Barthelemy, Lesotho, Martinique, Malta.
The CDC says that fully vaccinated travelers are "less likely to get and spread COVID-19," but traveling international carries with it additional risks because of the risk of carrying and spreading COVID-19 variants.
As of Tuesday, there are more than 60 destinations on the CDC's 'very high' COVID-19 list. Some of the other destinations that were already on the list before this week include Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Madagascar, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and more.
On Tuesday, the White House said the U.S. has donated and shipped more than 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to more than 60 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia.
Biden has promised the U.S. will be the “arsenal of vaccines” for the world. The 110 million doses, given largely through a vaccine program known as COVAX, represent a fraction of what is needed globally.
The White House says the U.S. will begin shipping at the end of August the half a billion doses of Pfizer vaccine it has pledged to 100 low-income countries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.