Fauci: US Should Consider Vaccine Mandate for US Air Travel

Associated PressPublished: December 28, 2021

FILE PHOTO: LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 25: Holiday travelers pass through Los Angeles international Airport on Thanksgiving eve as the COVID-19 spike worsens and stay-at-home restrictions are increased on November 25, 2020 in West Hollywood, California. Starting today, travelers arriving to Los Angeles by airplane or train are required to sign a form acknowledging California's recommendation of a 14-day self-quarantine. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has warned that the virus is "threatening to spiral out of control" in the region, and that at the current rate of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, there will not be enough hospital beds by Christmastime. Despite pleas from health officials to not gather with people outside of ones household, more than 2 million Americans are projected to fly for Thanksgiving. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. infectious disease expert says the nation should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic air travel.

Dr. Anthony Fauci's comments signal a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed.

He says such a mandate might drive up the lagging U.S. vaccination rate as well as confer stronger protection on flights, as infection rates spike.

The Biden administration has thus far balked at imposing a vaccination requirement for domestic air travel. And officials say President Joe Biden's science advisers have yet to make a formal recommendation for such a requirement.

A vaccine mandate for air travel is likely to spark legal challenges.

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