COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card issued by the Centers for Disease Control
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U.S. airlines and more than two dozen other industry groups urged the Biden administration on Monday to formulate a plan by May to lift international travel restrictions, including digital passport vaccine standards, after cross-border travel was devastated by the Covid pandemic.
Airlines for America, representing major US carriers such as American, United, Southwest, and others, sent one letter to Jeffrey Zients, the White House’s Covid-19 response team coordinator, who says the guidelines should exempt vaccinated people from international testing rules.
Among other recommendations, the groups asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to update their guidelines to say vaccinated people can travel safely, according to a copy of the letter viewed by CNBC.
“To be clear, at this point we support the removal or relaxation of basic public health protections such as the universal mask mandate, incoming international testing requirements, physical distance, or other measures that have made travel safer and reduced the transmission of the virus,” the said. letter, which was also signed by the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest flight attendant union and other industry groups. ”However, the data and science show that the right public health measures are now in place to effectively reduce risk and safely lift access restrictions possible. “
Most non-US citizens who have recently been to Europe, the UK, and Brazil have been banned from entering the US since March, when then-President Donald Trump instituted the rules as Covid-19 spread around the world. In January, President Joe Biden extended entry restrictions and added South Africa to the list due to an increase in infections and new, more contagious variants
The group also called on the White House to set standards for digital health records that immigration officials can show evidence of vaccinations or test results.
In the meantime, airlines and officials have been looking at ways to use digital vaccines or health passports to boost travel and ultimately replace travel restrictions. The European Union last week presented a digital health certificate with a QR code containing vaccine and Covid-19 test results.
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, told NBC Nightly News last week that he expects digital vaccination passports will be required for international travel.
The White House declined to comment, citing a recommendation against travel that CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky gave Monday.
“This is not the time to travel,” she said at a news conference.
“We’re not only concerned about what happens when you’re on the plane, but also about what happens when people travel, that is, they go out, they mingle, they mingle with people who have not been vaccinated, ” she said.