Obama’s Transport Secretary: White House Should Put a Vaccine Mandate on Airline Travel

Obama’s Transport Secretary Ray LaHood said that the White House should push for a  vaccine mandate on airline travelers. He compares vaccine mandate to showing a driver’s license to the TSA. During the interview, he said that “I don’t see it as a bureaucratic challenge to the airlines”.

He added that “You got to show ID in order to get through TSA, then make it part of getting through TSA—that you can’t get through TSA unless you show proper identification, your ticket, and a vaccination card”.

Vaccination Requirement on Domestic Travelers

Last week, the Biden administration required vaccination on federal workers and contractors. Plus, private businesses with 100 employees and up will now have to require vaccination among employees. If not, businesses will have to subject them to mandatory weekly COVID19 testing.

However, there were no updates on whether airlines will ask domestic travelers for proof of vaccination. Some issues make the implementation of mandates a bit tricky. For one, civil liberties groups have privacy concerns when it comes to having a centralized vaccine database.

For Obama’s Transport Secretary, Ray LaHood, some airlines are likely to resist requiring passengers to get vaccinated. LaHood said that they experienced the same hesitation when they pushed for the passenger’s bill of rights during Obama’s administration.

He said that “They pushed back heavily, but we moved ahead with it”.

White House officials said that they haven’t ruled out any policy that could potentially help contain the pandemic. When asked whether they are going to have a system that involves domestic travel, officials responded that they are focused on the policies from last week.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that “What we made the decision on — or a determination on, last week, is that putting in place these mandates and requirements on businesses would have the largest impact in helping reduce the spread of COVID, protect more people, and save more lives”.

This week, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that an airplane passenger mandate is a good idea. White House coronavirus response team coordinator said that “We’re not taking any measures off the table”.