ABSTRACT
Background: To assess the implications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related travel disruptions, we compared demographics and travel-related circumstances of US travelers seeking pretravel consultation regarding international travel at US Global TravEpiNet (GTEN) sites before and after the initiation of COVID-19 travel warnings. Methods: We analyzed data in the GTEN database regarding traveler demographics and travel-related circumstances with standard questionnaires in the pre-COVID-19 period (January-December 2019) and the COVID-19 period (April 2020-March 2021), excluding travelers from January to March 2020. We conducted descriptive analyses of differences in demographics, travel-related circumstances, routine and travel-related vaccinations, and medications. Results: Compared with 16 903 consultations in the pre-COVID-19 period, only 1564 consultations were recorded at GTEN sites during the COVID-19 period (90% reduction), with a greater proportion of travelers visiting friends and relatives (501/1564 [32%] vs 1525/16 903 [9%]), individuals traveling for >28 days (824/1564 [53%] vs 2522/16 903 [15%]), young children (6 mo-<6 y: 168/1564 [11%] vs 500/16 903 [3%]), and individuals traveling to Africa (1084/1564 [69%] vs 8049/16 903 [48%]). A smaller percentage of vaccine-eligible travelers received vaccines at pretravel consultations during the COVID-19 period than before, except for yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis vaccinations. Conclusions: Compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, a greater proportion of travelers during the COVID-19 period were young children, were planning to visit friends and relatives, were traveling for >28 days, or were traveling to Africa, which are circumstances that contribute to high risk for travel-related infections. Fewer vaccine-eligible travelers were administered travel-related vaccines at pretravel consultations. Counseling and vaccination focused on high-risk international travelers must be prioritized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Background To assess implications of COVID-19 related travel disruptions, we compared demographics and travel-related circumstances of US travelers seeking pretravel consultation regarding international travel at US Global TravEpiNet (GTEN) sites before and after the initiation of COVID-19 travel warnings. Methods We analyzed data in the GTEN database regarding traveler demographics and travel-related circumstances with standard questionnaires in the pre-COVID-19 period (January-December 2019) and the COVID-19 period (April 2020-March 2021), excluding travelers from January-March 2020. We conducted descriptive analyses of differences in demographics, travel-related circumstances, routine and travel-related vaccinations, and medications. Results Compared with 16,903 consultations in the pre-COVID-19 period, only 1,564 consultations were recorded at GTEN sites during the COVID-19 period (90% reduction) with a greater proportion of travelers visiting friends and relatives (501/1,564 [32%] vs 1,525/16,903 [9%]), traveling for >28 days (824/1,564 [53%] vs 2,522/16,903 [15%]), young children (6mo-<6y: 168/1,564 [11%] vs 500/16,903 [3%]), and traveling to Africa (1,084/1,564 [69%] vs 8,049/16,903 [48%]). A smaller percentage of vaccine-eligible travelers received vaccines at pretravel consultations during the COVID-19 period than before, except for yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis vaccinations. Conclusions Compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, a greater proportion of travelers during the COVID-19 period were young children, planning to visit friends and relatives, travel for >28 days, or travel to Africa, which are circumstances that contribute to high risk for travel-related infections. Fewer vaccine-eligible travelers were administered travel-related vaccines at pretravel consultations. Counseling and vaccination focused on high-risk international travelers must be priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic.