Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that he doesn’t think vaccine mandates on domestic air travel will happen any time soon. Fauci said that “It’s always discussable. We always wind up discussing it”. However, he added that “Right now, I don’t see that immediately”.
He elaborated that “I don’t want to say support or not I think it’s a decision that’s made by input from a number of parts of the government, including public health”. Even if Fauci is pulling back on his opinion, he previously indicated to have some support for vaccine mandates on domestic air travel.
Last month, Fauci said during a podcast that “I would support that if you want to get on a plane and travel with other people that you should be vaccinated”.
Lawmakers last month started introducing legislations that would make COVID vaccination a must even for domestic travelers. Senator Dianne Feinstein’s bill would make vaccination and a negative COVID19 test mandatory even for flying domestically.
Representative Don Beyer, on the other hand, proposed to make either vaccination or a negative test a requirement for Amtrak travelers. Representative Beyer introduced the Safe Travel Act because he thinks that Biden’s vaccine mandate is not enough. Beyer said that ”When everyone’s immune, you don’t have to worry about transmissions or variants”
Biden’s administration required federal contractors and businesses with at least 100 workers to require vaccination. However, Beyer said that Biden’s vaccine mandate “doesn’t touch the travelers themselves”.
However, some are concerned if vaccinations become mandatory for domestic air travelers. Groups believe that it’s going to be logistically complex.
US Travel Association President Roger Dow said that a vaccine mandate on domestic air travel is “extraordinarily difficult” to impose. Airlines for America echoed the same opinion as US Travel Association.
On Sunday, Fauci also said that COVID19 numbers are improving. Hospitalizations and deaths are showing improvements. However, he cautioned against declaring victory too early.
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