It’s Still Just the Unvaccinated Who Can’t Leave the United States Right Now

Don’t let the new European Union advisory confuse you.

I remember, in the depths of last fall, when the pandemic was at its worst in the United States and there was, horrifyingly, no one in charge of the federal government, when it felt like there was no escape. I mean that quite literally. If someone told you that if you thought America under Trump was a nightmare you could “love it or leave it,” you could tell them that, because of Trump’s inept handling of the pandemic, you physically could not leave the United States if you wanted to. The United States was so overcome by Covid-19 that many countries, including those in the European Union and Canada, would not let Americans in. There was something fitting, and incredibly depressing, about that: A country so enthralled with its own exceptionalism that no one in the rest of the world wants anything to do with them.

In June, hoping to welcome Americans eager for summer travel, the European Union lifted that ban, but Monday, officials with the EU announced that they recommend returning the restrictions for Americans who want to travel abroad. The reason for this is obvious to anyone in the United States right now: Cases are the highest they have been since the holidays, and we are, somehow, maddeningly…