The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week dealt a severe blow to the airline industry, which is struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
While the CDC has issued a number of recommendations that allow vaccinated and low-risk people to have more freedom to come together, CDC Director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Public Health Care: Is the US Coming Back to Normal After a Cruel Year? | CDC says it is safe for vaccinated to get together indoors Biden speaks for the first time after commemorating the pandemic exclusion Nation takes baby steps to normalcy after year in lock CDC: Vaccines can meet safely indoors without masks MORE said Monday that the agency’s travel advice remains the same for both vaccinated and vaccinated Americans: Do not do it.
Some experts say that the guidance is confusing and that the airline industry, although it says it will continue with the CDC, emphasizes efforts to prevent coronavirus transmission on board aircraft and trusts that the approach is safe.
“We are confident that this low-cost approach will significantly reduce the risk and encourage science to continue to confirm that there is a very low risk of virus transmission on board,” said a spokesman for Airlines for America. for major U.S. airlines.
President Biden
Joe Biden CNN: Bidens’ dogs removed from the White House federal judge rule that QAnon shaman is too dangerous to be released from prison. early in his term, wearing masks during air travel made a federal mandate, rather than a requirement of U.S. airlines. The White House also recently interrupted the consideration of a test requirement for domestic travel by air.
“We are continuing to work with the CDC and other appropriate authorities to ensure the implementation of travel policies and measures that prioritize the safety and well-being of all passengers and employees,” said the Airlines for America spokesperson.
Delta, Southwest, United and American Airlines all postponed to American Airlines for comment.
Leana Wen, a professor of public health at George Washington University and former health commissioner in Baltimore, called the lead Monday “completely too cautious.”
‘Many families are separated and have to travel to see each other. I’m really confused as to why the guidance on travel hasn’t changed. “Travel is very low – imagine traveling in your individual car or even by plane – when everyone is wearing masks, the risk of coronavirus is very low,” she said.
The airline industry did not ask for any changes in policy wearing, but asked for a set of criteria that could be used to adjust their travel guidelines.
“We call on the CDC to develop and release a set of criteria that will be used to adjust their travel guidance,” said an industry source.
Airlines for America and other industry groups this week called on the Biden Administration to develop health evidence for COVID-19 that includes information on tests and vaccinations, led by the CDC, so travelers can have verification and personal health records at hand.
The American Travel Association stressed that it is a priority to get past the pandemic, but also that goals must be set to relax some restrictions.
“We believe it is critical for U.S. public health officials to set goals to relax official travel guidance. The year-long travel break has kept people apart and caused serious damage to the economy and jobs, and because vaccines have advanced and encouraged in many areas, it should be possible to consider a time frame for a broader reopening of the journey, ”says Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and policy.
Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, was not critical of the CDC recommendation on Monday and said the US is on track to recover.
“The CDC’s policy has not changed. This reinforces the urgency to increase vaccine capacity and distribution, and overall efforts to end the pandemic. COVID is the problem. We need to be vigilant and get people vaccinated as quickly as possible, ”she said.
The CDC did not respond to a request for comment on what should be done to lift the travel restriction.
“We are really trying to limit travel in this current period, and we are hopeful that our next guidelines will have more science about what vaccinated people can do, perhaps to travel among them,” Walensky said Monday.
Rep. Rodney Davis
Rodney Lee Davis The House-passed election bill is aimed at foreign interference in Biden to meet with dual lawmakers on infrastructure. (R-Ill.), A member of the House Transport and Infrastructure Committee, said the White House should stop ‘adopting a lock-in mentality’.
“The whole point of vaccinating Americans against COVID is to save lives while our country returns to normal. People who still support the status quo of COVID restrictions, even though millions of Americans are vaccinated every day, will eventually see a large number “Americans are even deterred by the vaccine,” he said.
The CDC also recommended that vaccinated individuals should not be quarantined or tested if they come in contact with someone with COVID-19 and do not develop symptoms.
Wen called the lead confusing.
‘If they say you do not even have to quarantine after being exposed to someone with a known COVID-19, you can not get on a plane and sit there, masked, with people who probably do not have COVID -19? It simply does not make sense, ‘she said.
The air travel is slowly returning, but has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. The Transport Security Administration (TSA) selected 1,277,719 passengers on Sunday, and the last time the volume was so high was on January 3, when 1,327,289 passengers were selected for vacation travel.
On Saturday, TSA selected 991,547 passengers. The previous year, on March 6, the agency selected 2198,517 passengers.
The coronavirus assistance legislation passed by the Senate on Saturday will assist the industry. Airline received a $ 15 billion boost and an extension of the Payroll Support program, which was a key provision in the CARES law that would expire on April 1.
With the expansion, airlines could keep workers on the payroll on September 30th.
Walensky stressed about what guidance the CDC would give to a governor regarding vaccines traveling to their country, and that the recommendations have not changed.
‘Our travel guidelines are unchanged, and therefore we will maintain whatever the travel guide is. We want to give vaccinated grandparents the chance to visit their children and grandchildren who are healthy and local, but our travel guide is currently unchanged, ”he said.
According to Harvard University’s National Leadership Leadership Initiative, ‘scientific evidence is that the consistent application of a layered approach is a strong risk mitigation strategy for SARS-COV-2 transmission on an aircraft’, according to a report released last month has been announced.
The report, which assessed the risk of COVID-19 transmission during air travel, has a ‘very low probability’ of being infected with a COVID-19 aircraft, and recommended that the multilayer approach be followed to ‘ wear a mask and take physical distance during boarding and planning.
Win fears that the fact that unvaccinated people may not travel may mean that vaccinated people are not encouraged to consider vaccination as a normal return.
“We need to become much clearer about the freedoms an individual can have if they have proof of vaccination,” she said. “I think people who are fully vaccinated should be able to travel and in fact be encouraged to travel, of course with all the precautions.”