LONDON – Frustrated by slow and uncertain vaccination efforts around the world, some of the nine million Americans living abroad are returning home to take their Covid-19 photos.
For many, the risks of a long journey home are worth the reward of a vaccine that provides protection and peace of mind. But the journey also comes with the anguish and moral ambiguity of leaving behind friends, colleagues and even spouses who may not have access to a photo for months because they do not have a passport in the richest country in the world. world.
“I’ve certainly seen people talk about vaccine tourism,” said Chloe Zeitounian, a 32-year-old American actor from London who visited the United States earlier this month. “That’s basically what I did.”
The US and the UK are roughly equal in terms of vaccination rates, but recent supply disruptions have slowed the launch of the UK for younger people. The country also relies heavily on a photo developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca PLC. Regulators here have restricted people under the age of 30 from receiving it because of a possible link to rare but potentially serious blood clots. Ms. Zeitounian preferred to avoid the one that is not distributed in the United States
While queuing at a convention center in New Orleans and learning that she was offering a dose of two-shot vaccine from Moderna Inc., she called her British husband in London. “What am I doing right?” he asked Mrs. Zeitounian, who was in the United States, to apply for a visa. She plans to receive the second dose on a business trip to the US later this year, unless she receives it first in the UK.