Senator Feinstein introduces bill requiring vaccine or COVID-19 negative for domestic flights

Vaccines could soon be the ticket to travel to the United States. Senator Dianne Feinstein has proposed legislation that would require all travelers taking domestic flights to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

Under U.S. Air Travel Safety Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Federal Aviation Administration would be required to develop national standards and procedures for air travel vaccinations.

It would also require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to make recommendations for the use of the COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare facilities and among healthcare workers in other facilities.

“We know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winter’s devastating COVID-19 outbreak. We simply cannot allow this to happen again,” the California Democrat said.

“Ensuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is essential to prevent the next wave, especially if we are facing new, more virulent variants of COVID-19,” she said. stated, similar to the requirements already in place for overseas travel.

“It makes perfect sense that we also make sure that the millions of air passengers who fly through our country do not contribute to further transmission, especially since young children still cannot be vaccinated.”

Professor Dorit Reiss of the University of California at Hasting, who specializes in vaccine law, says the bill is constitutional and provides options for the unvaccinated.

“One of the challenges could be that you have to include a religious exemption for those who oppose a COVID-19 vaccine. I don’t think it will work and here’s why: There is a general exception,” Reiss said. at CBS San Francisco. “People can provide a negative test instead. So, people with religious objections to vaccination may instead get a negative PCR test. So there is already a built-in exemption. “

A traveler from San Francisco International Airport told the station the vaccination warrant would make her feel safer. “Now you’re wrapped up right next to someone. I don’t want to drink on the plane, I don’t want to eat on the plane. I don’t take off my mask, I would feel a lot more at home. comfortable knowing someone else is vaccinated, ”said Megan Barton, a nurse practitioner.

“It’s just science. Let’s go with the scientists,” traveler Kat Lake said.

At least one state, Hawaii, requires vaccines or a negative COVID-19 test for domestic airline travelers. American Airlines has an app for people traveling to Hawaii or overseas to download the necessary documents.

The airline also said last month it would not grant special leave to unvaccinated employees who must be quarantined due to COVID-19, Reuters reports.

JetBlue strongly encourages crew members to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the airline said. The airline pays up to 14 additional sick days for any crew member diagnosed with COVID-19.

United Airlines was the first US carrier to require vaccinations for all domestic employees, according to Reuters. This week, the company announced that nearly 600 employees were “separated from the company” for non-compliance.

Delta also requires its employees to get vaccinated and said last week that 82% had done so. As of September 12, any employee who had not been vaccinated was required to take a COVID test every week.

However, pilot unions suggested this week that the vaccine warrants could cause shortages in the airline industry, reports CBS News transportation correspondent Errol Barnett.

“If in fact pilots who are not vaccinated are put on unpaid leave or are made redundant, that makes over 4,000 American Airlines pilots who will not be able to fly,” said Captain Dennis Taje, spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, which includes 15,000 American Airlines Pilots. The APA vaccination rate is 70%, Barnett reports.

The APA and the Southwest Airline Pilots Association are both asking for exemptions before President Joe Biden’s executive order making vaccines mandatory.