{"id":130189,"date":"2021-09-30T13:04:24","date_gmt":"2021-09-30T20:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=130189"},"modified":"2021-09-30T13:04:24","modified_gmt":"2021-09-30T20:04:24","slug":"feinstein-introduces-bill-requiring-covid-19-vaccine-negative-test-or-recovery-documentation-for-domestic-air-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=130189","title":{"rendered":"Feinstein Introduces Bill Requiring COVID-19 Vaccine, Negative Test or Recovery Documentation for Domestic Air Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington, DC…Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced the U.S. Air Travel Public Safety Act<\/i><\/a>, a bill that would require all passengers on domestic airline flights to either be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative for COVID-19 or have fully recovered from COVID-19.<\/p>\n

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The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration, to develop national vaccination standards and procedures related to COVID-19 and domestic air travel in order to prevent future outbreaks of the disease.<\/p>\n

The bill would also require the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to make recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine use in health care settings and among health care personnel in other settings.<\/p>\n

The legislation builds on a\u00a0current CDC requirem<\/a>ent that all air passengers traveling to the United States from a foreign country must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19. Last week, the Biden administration announced it will work with airlines to\u00a0implement additional protocols<\/a>\u00a0to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on international flights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that air travel during the 2020 holiday season contributed to last winter\u2019s devastating COVID-19 surge. We simply cannot allow that to happen again,\u201d\u00a0Feinstein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnsuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is critical to prevent the next surge, particularly if we confront new, more virulent variants of COVID-19. This bill complements similar travel requirements already in place for all air passengers \u2013 including Americans \u2013 who fly to the United States from foreign countries. This includes flights from foreign countries with lower COVID-19 rates than many U.S. states.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt only makes sense that we also ensure the millions of airline passengers that crisscross our country aren\u2019t contributing to further transmission, especially as young children remain ineligible to be vaccinated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill is supported by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Public Health Association.<\/p>\n

Dr. Barbara D. Alexander, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and professor of medicine and pathology at Duke University School of Medicine said:\u00a0\u201cVaccination is a critical strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic, and vaccination requirements in multiple settings are an important mechanism to boost vaccination rates, prevent infections and hospitalizations and save lives. The Infectious Diseases Society of America supports Senator Feinstein\u2019s legislation to require vaccination for domestic air travel as part of our nation\u2019s broader COVID-19 vaccination strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Background<\/u><\/p>\n