The desperate families still torn apart by Covid rules

Vaccines could yet kick-start international travel, but it's a long time coming for international families forced to live apart in a time where -- because of inflexible Covid border restrictions -- it often takes the death of loved one to bring them back together.

(CNN) — When the European Union recently announced that vaccinated Americans will be allowed to enter the EU this summer, many US travelers celebrated, eager to dust off their passports for a long-awaited trip abroad. But for many families in the EU separated from loved ones in non-EU countries -- some for a year or longer -- by the those same border entry restrictions that will soon be lifted for some tourists, the news exacerbated feelings of outrage and isolation that have been building for many months. "How do you even allow yourself as the government of a country or a union to decide that some people's holiday plans are worth more than families being able to be brought back together?" said Alix Indigo Holmgaard -- pictured above with her family -- a Denmark citizen and mother of three who hasn't seen her fiancé and stepdaughter in the UK since last year.