Information for International Students

Important Vaccine and Booster Information for Students Arriving from Outside the United States

Updated: February 2024

The CDC does not require air passengers traveling from a foreign country to the United States to show a negative COVID-19 viral test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board their flight.

Please note: These protocols are subject to change.  Refer to the latest CDC guidance regarding Non-U.S. citizens and Non-U.S. immigrants traveling to the United States

The University of Maryland does not require proof of COVID-19 vaccination. However, we strongly recommend that you stay up to date on your COVID vaccines and boosters with a WHO-approved vaccine. A list of WHO-approved vaccines is below.

For students arriving in the U.S. 

  • It is strongly recommended that you get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after arrival unless you have documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the past 90 days.
  • No self-quarantine protocol is required, but you should self-monitor for symptoms, and test if you experience any symptoms.  If you have questions or concerns about potential COVID symptoms, please contact the HEAL Line at 301-405-4325.  If you test positive, please visit health.umd.edu/HEAL for more information.

WHO Approved COVID Vaccines

*The following vaccines have FDA EUA authorization and/or are WHO-authorized.

Platform Vaccine Name Manufacturer
mRNA BNT162b2/Tozinameran/COMIRNATY® Pfizer-BioNTech
mRNA mRNA-1273 Moderna
Ad26 Ad26.COV2.S Johnson & Johnson
ChAdOx1 Azd1222 Oxford/AstraZeneca
ChAdOx1 Covishield (ChAdOx1_nCoV-19) Serum Institute India
Inactivated virus/Produced in Vero Cells SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (InCoV) Sinopharm/BIBP

Inactivated virus/Produced in Vero Cells
COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated/Coronavac™ Sinovac
Whole-virion inactivated Vero Cell SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine, Inactivated (Vero Cell)/ COVAXIN Bharat Biotech, India
Recombinant nanoparticle prefusion spike protein formulated with Matrix-M™ adjuvant

NVX-CoV2373/Nuvaxovid 

NVX-CoV2373/Covovax D

Novavax

Covavax