Senate bill would require national leaflets to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination

A new Senate bill would require national leaflets to provide proof of coronavirus vaccination.

California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday introduced the US Air Travel Public Safety Act, which would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for COVID-19, or have fully recovered from the disease. sickness.

The bill would require U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop national immunization standards and procedures related to COVID-19 and domestic air travel.

THE SHOOTING ORDERED BY FAUCI FOR THE FLYERS WOULD BE A “LOGISTIC NIGHTMARE”

In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Immunization Practices Advisory Committee would be required to make recommendations for the use of the COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare facilities and among hospital staff. health in different contexts.

The legislation, Feinstein’s office said, is based on a current CDC order – issued in January – requiring proof of a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of having it collected for all air passengers arriving at the airport. United States from a foreign country.

The bureau noted that the Biden administration said in September it would ease its virus restrictions on foreign flights to America, allowing foreigners to travel to the United States this fall with proof of vaccination and a test. COVID-19 negative within three days of their flight.

The changes are expected to take effect in November, and White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said the CDC will require airlines to collect contact details from international travelers to facilitate tracing.

Feinstein cited the spread of COVID-19 from holiday season travel in 2020 as one of the main reasons for the bill.

“We know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winter’s devastating wave of COVID-19. We simply cannot allow this to happen again,” the senator said in a statement. .

“Ensuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is critical to preventing the next wave, especially if we are facing new, more virulent variants of COVID-19,” she said. added. “This bill complements similar travel requirements already in place for all air passengers – including Americans – who fly to the United States from foreign countries. This includes flights from foreign countries with lower COVID-19 rates than many U.S. states. “

“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,” Feinstein said.

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The bill is supported by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Public Health Association.

“Vaccination is a critical strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination requirements in multiple settings are an important mechanism to increase vaccination rates, prevent infections and hospitalizations, and save lives,” Barbara Alexander, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and professor of medicine and pathology at Duke University School of Medicine, commented on the release.

Feinstein’s statement cites research from the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the Mayo Clinic, and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

However, the US Travel Association, reacting to comments from the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, argued in a September 13 statement that the research “overwhelmingly indicates the safety of travelers. air travel as long as masks are worn “. noting that the mask’s federal mandate for all forms of public transportation and U.S. airports has been extended until January 2022.

Citing research from the Harvard School of Public Health and the US Department of Defense, Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy for the US Travel Association, said the right tools were already in place to allow Americans to travel by air safely.

“US Travel has long argued that there should be no mandatory vaccination requirements for domestic travel. Such a policy would have an unfair and negative impact on families with young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination, ”said Barnes.

“Although US Travel does not endorse a national vaccine mandate, we continue to believe that vaccines are the quickest path to normalcy for everyone, and we strongly encourage all who are eligible to get vaccinated immediately for their own benefit. protect, protect their families and their neighbors, “she said.

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While some airlines have required their employees to be fully vaccinated, Australian airline Qantas is expected to become the first carrier to mandate passenger vaccinations.

Alternatively, some US airline executives called such a mandate “logically impractical”, “incredibly cumbersome” and suggested that it “would actually clog the domestic travel system”.