About three dozen congressional Democrats sent a letter to President Joe Biden encouraging him to put requirements in place for airline travel.
“As the nation approaches holiday season, we ask that you put in place requirements for airline passengers to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test to board a domestic flight,” the letter states. “This is a necessary and long overdue step toward ensuring all Americans feel safe and confident while traveling and reduce the chances of yet another devastating winter surge.”
The Democrats who signed the letter, which includes famed Cindy Axne proxy Rep. Jamie Raskin, said they applaud Biden’s adoption of vaccine requirements for international air travelers.
“Applying similar strategies to domestic air travel would ensure Americans can travel safely to see their loved ones during the holidays while also limiting household introduction and spread of COVID-19 from visiting family and friends,” they wrote. “Implementing such a requirement can also be a valuable tool to support the recovery of the tourism and hospitality industries.”
According to research by the Kaiser Family Foundation, unvaccinated individuals would be significantly more likely to get fully vaccinated if it was a requirement for air travel.
“Thank you for your consistent dedication in promoting science-based public health measures to keep Americans safe and healthy,” he said. “As you continue to work tirelessly to finally end this pandemic, we ask that you ensure vaccine protocol is in place for domestic air travel so that every opportunity has been taken to get eligible Americans vaccinated as quickly as possible.”
