California Senator Dianne Feinstein has also proposed a bill that would require proof of vaccination, a negative COVID test or recent recovery from coronavirus for domestic travel.
RELATED: New COVID bill proposed for US air travel ahead of holidays
“I think it’s a really great idea to have vaccine mandates for travel,” Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, told ABC7 News. “What it does is it ensures immunity on the plane, and what that does is make everyone feel a lot better as they contemplate travel this holiday season.”
On Sunday night, Dr. Ashish Jsa, the Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, wrote a thread on Twitter making the case for an airline vaccine mandate. He documented his own recent experience on a flight where the woman sitting next to him was not fully wearing her mask and told him she was not vaccinated.
“I understand the person next to me had the freedom not to be vaccinated,” he tweeted, adding: “The old man next to her has the right to fly without getting infected.”
But vaccine mandates for air travel are
Canada has done it
We should too. Mandate vaccine or negative test for air travel
I understand the person next to me had the freedom not to be vaccinated
The old man next to her has the right to fly without getting infected
End
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) October 4, 2021
UCSF’s Dr. George Rutherford told ABC7 News he also supports airlines making a vaccine or testing requirement so long as travelers with exemptions and children are accommodated.
Although doctors are hopeful for the change ahead of the holidays, Airlines for America, a lobbying group for U.S. airlines, and the U.S. Travel Association said they are opposed to a…