A small piece of optimistic news from the White House’s chief medical advisor.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week that, right now, he would have no issues getting on a plane and flying despite the fact that the COVID-19 Omicron variant is “spreading very efficiently,” he told CNBC in an interview.
“If I had to I would have no problem getting on an airplane. I’m vaccinated. I’m boosted. I know we have to wear a mask on an airplane,” he said during an appearance Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program.
Fauci said that obviously includes being indoors in airports while going to the gate.
“There’s no doubt that fabric masks work,” he said. “The N95 is the best one. But they are relatively uncomfortable to wear. Not a lot of people wear them. But a regular surgical mask as well as a cloth mask is fine.”
That’s a boost for travelers expected to flock to airports the next two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s holidays. In fact, more than 100 million Americans are expected to travel during that time.
Fauci added that if both the Omicron and Delta variants prove to be more problematic, it could cause travel restrictions similar to what we saw wen the virus first hit last year.