by Pa Rock
Domestic Traveler
Did you know that foreign nationals traveling to the United States are required to be fully vaccinated? Or that Americans flying from the United States to many foreign destinations also have to be fully vaccinated - as determined by the receiving countries?
Getting shots in order to fly internationally is not a new concept. When I flew to Japan to work with the US military in 2010, I had to have multiple shots before boarding the international flight. It is just one more way that a nation has of protecting its borders. Restricting access to vaccinated individuals makes sense.
But being vaccinated to board any aircraft during a highly contagious world-wide pandemic also makes sense. What better place to come down with an airborne disease than while sitting five or six miles up in the air in a thin metal tube that recirculates its air supply?
President Biden says that he is considering issuing a mandate that all domestic travelers on public conveyances in the US be fully vaccinated, an edict that would presumably include not only air travelers, but also train, subway, bus, and cruise ship passengers. Biden says he is waiting on the advice of his medical team, and will issue a mandate for domestic travelers to be vaccinated if the team recommends it.
And then we will have to suffer through the explosion of outrage from right-wing politicians and news outlets. Groups that this week were critical of Biden for having no plan to combat the spread of COVID will next week be erupting over a plan that he is promoting which they don't like.
There is just no pleasing some people.
Bring on those vaccine mandates for domestic travel, Joe. Fully vaccinated passengers on public transport will curb the spread of the virus, save lives, and help the American economy grow. And, if conservative heads begin exploding on national television as a result - so damned be it!
1 comment:
Being hung by one's own petard is what happens when the President wants to impose a vaccine mandate on domestic air travelers in America. The President issued a proclamation on October 21, 2021 requiring aliens flying to the United States to be vaccinated.
In that proclamation he said "It is the policy of my Administration to implement science-based public health measures, across all areas of the Federal Government, to prevent further introduction, transmission, and spread of COVID-19 into and throughout the United States, including from international air travelers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Department of Health and Human Services has determined that the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19, including preventing infection by the Delta variant, is for individuals to get vaccinated. According to the CDC, vaccinated individuals are 5 times less likely to be infected and 10 times less likely to experience hospitalization or death due to COVID-19 than unvaccinated individuals."
Imposing a domestic mandate on all air travelers to be vaccinated seems like a no-brainer. The CDC, perhaps relying on insufficient data, has thrown a monkey wrench into the works. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director said "Certainly, domestic flights has been a topic of conversation, but that is not something we’re revisiting right now." See, https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2021/12/cdc-says-it-wont-impose-covid-vaccine-mandate-on-domestic-flights-for-now.html. Walensky apparently focused on the efficacy of inflight air purification rather than on the impact to distant communities posed by infected travelers and lack of effective quarantines at destinations.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is at least open to the idea. He said "“When dealing with domestic flights, you want to keep people safe, and right now we feel the masking requirement and the amount of filtration on a plane is sufficient to keep people safe,” he said. “If there’s a need to do more ... we will seriously consider that. It’s just keeping an open mind."
Early data suggested the Omicron variant affected those vaccinated against Covid with mild symptoms. The unvaccinated sometimes require hospitalization. In other words, "The omicron variant of COVID-19 will provide a “stark difference” in experiences for vaccinated and unvaccinated people, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Monday (December 20th) during a TV appearance.
A President who has rightly tied his travel vaccine mandate to scientific community fractured on the subject of vaccine mandates for domestic travelers. Should science reach consensus all Joe Biden needs to do is modify his October 21st proclamation.
Post a Comment