Fauci: Domestic Travel Vaccination Requirement Should Be Considered

Dr. Anthony Fauci said a domestic travel vaccination rule should be considered as the omicron variant fuels record Covid-19 cases and disrupts holiday travel around the U.S.

Fauci said on MSNBC that it would be “reasonable to consider” a requirement to be vaccinated for COVID before getting on a domestic flight. Later on CNN, he said that people should consider avoiding large New Year’s Eve parties.

“When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” Fauci said. “If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.”

President Joe Biden said that governors had recently asked Fauci about new requirements for air travel. Airlines for America, the lobbying group for major U.S. air carriers, said the administration made it clear that such a mandate wasn’t in the cards.

“We have been informed by the administration that there is no imminent policy proposal regarding a domestic travel requirement and echo concerns expressed by the administration about the implementation and enforcement of such a policy,” it said in a statement.

A case surge prompted airlines to cancel about 2,800 flights over the holiday weekend due to personnel shortages.