U.S. should consider vaccine mandate for U.S. air travel: Anthony Fauci
The Hindu
U.S. currently mandates that most foreign nationals travelling to the U.S. be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel, signalling a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed, as COVID-19 cases spike.
Dr. Fauci, President Joe Biden’s Chief Science Advisor on the pandemic response, said on December 27 that such a mandate might drive up the nation’s lagging vaccination rate as well as confer stronger protection on flights, for which federal regulations require all those age 2 and older to wear a mask.
“When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” Dr. Fauci told MSNBC. “If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.” The Biden administration has thus far balked at imposing a vaccination requirement for domestic air travel. Two officials said Mr. Biden’s science advisors have yet to make a formal recommendation for such a requirement to the President.
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