Dr. Fauci Recommends Vaccine Mandate for Domestic Flights, But Says It's Not Expected to Happen

Photo: Susan Walsh/AP/Bloomberg via GettyDr. Anthony Faucisays a vaccine mandate for domestic travel may not happen.After previously expressing support for a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, 81, toldCNN: “I don’t think people should expect that we’re going to have a requirement in domestic flights for people to be vaccinated.“Last week, Dr. Fauci expressed onMSNBCthat making the COVID vaccine a requirement for domestic flights should be “seriously considered.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.At the time, Fauci did not state whether or not he made those recommendations directly to President Biden, however, he told the outlet that there are pros and cons for taking that next step.“You’ve got to ask yourself why it is you’re making that requirement,” he told MSNBC. “If you’re making a requirement for vaccination for people to get on planes who are coming into the country, that’s understandable. You don’t want to bring more cases into the country,““But if you’re talking about requiring vaccination to get on a plane domestically, that is just another one of the requirements that I think is reasonable to consider,” Fauci continued.Fauci then pointed out that other vaccines are already required for schools, jobs, and more. He said that a mandate for air travel could be an “incentive” for people to get their COVID vaccines.The Centers for Disease Prevention and Controlstatesthat non-U.S. citizens must show proof of being fully vaccinated before flying into the country.However, vaccination is not required but recommended for any domestic air travel. Those who plan to fly domestically but are not vaccinated are urged to get a COVID test up to three days before traveling and three to five days after returning.Though there are currently no vaccine mandates for travel, airlines havecanceled hundredsof flights nationwide as cases of the Omicron variant of COVID continue to rise.Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the Omicron variant is currently themost dominantCOVID-19 strain in the country at 73.2% of cases reported between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18. The week prior, only 12.6% of the reported coronavirus cases were Omicron.On Nov. 29, the CDC said that it “strongly encourages” all individuals receive a booster shot six months after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two months after their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot. The announcement came shortly after the Omicron variant wasdetected in North Americafor the first time in two people from Canada that had recently returned to the country from a trip to Nigeria.As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.

Photo: Susan Walsh/AP/Bloomberg via Getty

Dr. Anthony Faucisays a vaccine mandate for domestic travel may not happen.After previously expressing support for a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, 81, toldCNN: “I don’t think people should expect that we’re going to have a requirement in domestic flights for people to be vaccinated.“Last week, Dr. Fauci expressed onMSNBCthat making the COVID vaccine a requirement for domestic flights should be “seriously considered.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.At the time, Fauci did not state whether or not he made those recommendations directly to President Biden, however, he told the outlet that there are pros and cons for taking that next step.“You’ve got to ask yourself why it is you’re making that requirement,” he told MSNBC. “If you’re making a requirement for vaccination for people to get on planes who are coming into the country, that’s understandable. You don’t want to bring more cases into the country,““But if you’re talking about requiring vaccination to get on a plane domestically, that is just another one of the requirements that I think is reasonable to consider,” Fauci continued.Fauci then pointed out that other vaccines are already required for schools, jobs, and more. He said that a mandate for air travel could be an “incentive” for people to get their COVID vaccines.The Centers for Disease Prevention and Controlstatesthat non-U.S. citizens must show proof of being fully vaccinated before flying into the country.However, vaccination is not required but recommended for any domestic air travel. Those who plan to fly domestically but are not vaccinated are urged to get a COVID test up to three days before traveling and three to five days after returning.Though there are currently no vaccine mandates for travel, airlines havecanceled hundredsof flights nationwide as cases of the Omicron variant of COVID continue to rise.Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the Omicron variant is currently themost dominantCOVID-19 strain in the country at 73.2% of cases reported between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18. The week prior, only 12.6% of the reported coronavirus cases were Omicron.On Nov. 29, the CDC said that it “strongly encourages” all individuals receive a booster shot six months after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two months after their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot. The announcement came shortly after the Omicron variant wasdetected in North Americafor the first time in two people from Canada that had recently returned to the country from a trip to Nigeria.As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.

Dr. Anthony Faucisays a vaccine mandate for domestic travel may not happen.

After previously expressing support for a vaccine mandate for domestic air travel, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, 81, toldCNN: “I don’t think people should expect that we’re going to have a requirement in domestic flights for people to be vaccinated.”

Last week, Dr. Fauci expressed onMSNBCthat making the COVID vaccine a requirement for domestic flights should be “seriously considered.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

At the time, Fauci did not state whether or not he made those recommendations directly to President Biden, however, he told the outlet that there are pros and cons for taking that next step.

“You’ve got to ask yourself why it is you’re making that requirement,” he told MSNBC. “If you’re making a requirement for vaccination for people to get on planes who are coming into the country, that’s understandable. You don’t want to bring more cases into the country,”

“But if you’re talking about requiring vaccination to get on a plane domestically, that is just another one of the requirements that I think is reasonable to consider,” Fauci continued.

Fauci then pointed out that other vaccines are already required for schools, jobs, and more. He said that a mandate for air travel could be an “incentive” for people to get their COVID vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Controlstatesthat non-U.S. citizens must show proof of being fully vaccinated before flying into the country.

However, vaccination is not required but recommended for any domestic air travel. Those who plan to fly domestically but are not vaccinated are urged to get a COVID test up to three days before traveling and three to five days after returning.

Though there are currently no vaccine mandates for travel, airlines havecanceled hundredsof flights nationwide as cases of the Omicron variant of COVID continue to rise.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the Omicron variant is currently themost dominantCOVID-19 strain in the country at 73.2% of cases reported between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18. The week prior, only 12.6% of the reported coronavirus cases were Omicron.

On Nov. 29, the CDC said that it “strongly encourages” all individuals receive a booster shot six months after their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, or two months after their first dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot. The announcement came shortly after the Omicron variant wasdetected in North Americafor the first time in two people from Canada that had recently returned to the country from a trip to Nigeria.

As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.

source: people.com