Vaccinations To Fly? Fauci Supports It And Legislation Is Calling For It

A mandate for travelers to be vaccinated in order to fly has not yet passed, but the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, believes it would be a good idea to have this requirement in place.

In an interview with the Skimm’s “Skimm This” podcast, which is set for release on Thursday, according to The Hill, Fauci said he supports vaccine mandates for air travel.

“I would support that," Fauci said. "If you want to get on a plane and travel with other people that you should be vaccinated."

The news of Fauci backing such a mandate comes as Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., champions a bill that looks to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for all airline and train passengers in order for them to board.

What is known as the Safe Travel Act would also require employees, contractors, and subcontractors to be either vaccinated or have a negative COVID test once a week.

“Requiring airport and Amtrak travelers and employees to provide a proof of Covid vaccine or negative test is just common sense,” Beyer said regarding his bill, The Independent reported. “These are easy steps we can take to make travel safer, as companies like United have already demonstrated with responsible policy changes.”

While the federal government has not issued a mandate requiring vaccinations for airline and train passengers or employees, United Airlines is requiring all of its workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 25. Frontier and Hawaiian Airlines also require their employees to be fully vaccinated.

Delta is not mandating that its workers be fully vaccinated but has implemented a $200 surcharge on insurance premiums for those employees who are unvaccinated to motivate them to get inoculated.

There is a federal mask mandate for all airline, bus, and train travelers that is in effect until Jan. 18, 2022.

To date, over 178.6 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, accounting for 53.8% of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.