By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that mixed-dose coronavirus shots will be accepted from travelers. The announcement was a major boost for Canadian and other travelers.

Last week, the CDC stated that any vaccine approved by U.S. regulators and/or the World Health Organization would be accepted. A spokeswoman for CDC said that although the CDC does not recommend mixing vaccine types in a primary series of vaccination, it recognizes the increasing prevalence of this in other countries and should accept such information in order to interpret vaccine records.

The White House announced Friday that the United States would require foreign nationals to obtain new vaccinations for travelers who cross at both land and international borders.

Representative Brian Higgins, a New York Democrat representing a district along the Canadian border, had on Friday asked the CDC if it would accept the mixed vaccine doses noting “nearly four million Canadians, equivalent to 10% of their fully vaccinated population, have received mixed doses of the available mRNA COVID-19 vaccines – this includes the AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:) vaccine.”

According to the CDC, vaccines that have been approved for entry by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as vaccines authorized by WHO will all be allowed into the United States.

According to the CDC, “individuals who receive two doses from an FDA-authorized/authorized COVID-19 2-dose series or WHO emergency use list COVID-19 two dosage series are fully vaccinated.”

The CDC will answer any other queries and issue a contact tracing order to international visitors for Oct. 25.