Fauci says COVID-19 vaccine warrant for air travel has not been ‘taken off the table’

• Dr Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that U.S. authorities could issue a COVID-19 vaccine warrant for commercial flights.

• “The team has a lot of things on the table. Nothing has been taken off the table,” he said on “Meet the Press”.

• The Biden administration earlier this month announced increased fines for passengers who refuse to wear face masks on flights.

• See more stories on the Insider business page.

U.S. officials have not ruled out a COVID-19 vaccination warrant for air travelers, Dr Anthony Fauci, longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday.

Fauci made the comments during an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” Sunday after moderator Chuck Todd asked him about his support for travel warrants.

“The team has a lot on the table. Nothing has been taken off the table,” said Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. “This decision has not been made.”

“We are not yet at the point of requiring vaccinations on domestic flights, but everything is on the table,” he added on Sunday. “We take these things literally on a daily basis. So suffice to say it’s still on the table right now.”

Fauci’s comments on Sunday echo remarks he made last week. In a podcast interview with The Skimm, Fauci said he supports such proposals.

“I would argue that if you want to get on a plane and travel with other people, you should be vaccinated,” he said.

Although vaccines have not yet been required to fly in the United States, airlines have required face coverings on commercial flights since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order in February requiring face masks to be worn on all public transportation, including on commercial flights.

The Biden administration announced earlier in September that it plans to double the fine for passengers who refuse to wear face coverings in flight. The change came as part of the White House’s COVID-19 action plan, as Insider previously reported.

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Passengers who refuse to comply with mask-wearing policies previously faced fines ranging from $ 250 to $ 1,500. Guidelines released earlier this month increased the minimum fine to $ 500 and the maximum fine to $ 3,000.

“You know, the president made the theft decision, if if a person doesn’t want to wear a mask or wear a mask, they double the fine on it,” Fauci said on Sunday.

Fauci’s comments on Sunday come as more travelers return to the skies even as new cases multiply, fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, bringing air travel closer to pre-pandemic levels. The Transportation Security Administration screened nearly 1.5 million passengers on Saturday – more than double the passengers it screened on the same day last year, according to TSA data.

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