Vaccination Certificates from US and UK to Be Accepted

Icelandic authorities have decided to enact regulations this week, allowing travelers from the US and UK who present certificates of vaccination for COVID-19 to enter the country, mbl.is reports.

We reported yesterday that so far, neither certificates of vaccination nor certificates of antibodies for COVID-19 have been accepted at Icelandic borders from passengers coming from outside the Schengen Area, which comprises 26 European countries.

Now, this is about to change.

Minister of Justice Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir confirms this in an interview with mbl.is.

“The minister of health and I both suggested changing our regulations regarding certificates from outside the Schengen Area.”

“We are in fact opening [the country] more,” states Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir.

Áslaug Arna explains that certificates of vaccination with vaccines already approved by the European Medicines Agency will be accepted. Russians, for example, will have to wait a while for their certificates of vaccination to be accepted, since their vaccine, Sputnik V, has not been approved by the agency. “Clearly, it will soon qualify,” she added.

“These changes are substantial,” she continued. “Most of our tourists come from these countries [i.e. the US and the UK], and they have a great impact on our economy, and they are well underway with vaccinations, using vaccines that the [European Medicines] Agency has approved.”