This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dealt a severe blow to the airline industry, which is struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
While the CDC issued a series of recommendations that allow vaccinated and low-risk people to have more freedom to meet, the CDC director Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky Night Care: After a Brutal Year, Is the United States Coming Back to Normal? | CDC says vaccinated people are safe to gather inside Biden will deliver a keynote address on the anniversary of the pandemic blockade. Nation adopts baby’s normalcy after a year in CDC lockout: vaccinated people can meet safely without masks MORE MORE said Monday that the agency’s travel advice remains the same for vaccinated and unvaccinated Americans: don’t.
But some experts felt this orientation was confusing and the airline, while stating that it would continue to work with CDC, highlighted its efforts to prevent the transmission of coronavirus on board aircraft and its confidence that its focus would be for sure.
“We are confident that this layered approach will significantly reduce the risk and encourage us to continue to confirm that there is a very low risk of virus transmission on board aircraft,” said a spokesman for Airlines for America, which defends key American airlines.
President Biden
Joe BidenCNN: Bidens dogs withdrawn from the White House, federal judge finds ‘shaman QAnon’ too dangerous to be released from prison. Pelosi says the Capitol riots were one of the most difficult moments of his career MORE at the beginning of his tenure he made wearing masks during air travel a federal tenure, rather than a requirement of American airlines. Recently, the White House also stopped considering a test requirement for traveling nationwide by air.
“We continue 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,” the Airlines for America spokesman said.
Delta, Southwest, United and American Airlines differed on Airlines for America for comment.
Leana Wen, a professor of public health at George Washington University and a former Baltimore health commissioner, called the guide Monday “too prudent.”
“Many families are separated from each other and need to travel to see each other. I’m really baffled as to why the orientation around travel hasn’t changed. Travel has a very low risk: imagine if you travel in an individual car or even by plane, as long as everyone wears masks, the risk of coronavirus is very low, ”he said.
The airline industry has not called for any change in mask use policies, but has called for a set of criteria that can be used to adjust its travel guide.
“We continue to urge CDCs to establish and publish a set of criteria that will be used to adjust their travel orientation,” an industry source said.
Airlines for America and other industry groups this week called on the Biden administration to develop COVID-19 health credentials that include information on testing and vaccines, led by the CDC, so that travelers can have verification on hand. identification and personal health records.
The U.S. Travel Association stressed that overcoming the pandemic is the priority, 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 the official guide around travel. The one-year break from travel has kept people apart and caused severe damage to the economy and places to travel. work, and with vaccines progressing and fostering case trends in many areas, it should be possible to set a deadline for a wider reopening of travel, ”said Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of public affairs and politics. .
Sara Nelson, international president of the Vol-CWA Assistants Association, did not criticize the CDC recommendation on Monday and said the U.S. is on the road to recovery.
“The CDC’s policy has not changed. This reinforces the urgency of increasing the capacity and distribution of vaccines, and the overall efforts to end the pandemic. COVID is the problem. We need to stay alert and vaccinate people as quickly as possible, ”he said.
The CDC did not respond to any requests for comment on what needs to be done to lift the travel restriction.
“We’re really trying to slow down travel in this current period of time and hopefully our next set of guidelines has more science on what vaccinated people can do, maybe travel among themselves,” Walensky said Monday.
Rep. Rodney Davis
Rodney Lee Davis: A House-approved election bill is aimed at foreign interference. Biden meets with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure. (R-Ill.), A member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the White House should stop “understanding the blocking mindset.”
“The overall goal of vaccinating Americans against COVID is to save lives while accelerating the normalization of our country. People who continue to support the status quo of COVID restrictions, even when millions of more Americans get vaccinated every day, they will end up deterring a large number of Americans from even getting the vaccine, ”he said.
The CDC also recommended that vaccinated people should not be quarantined or tested if they come in contact with someone with COVID-19 and have no symptoms.
Wen said this orientation was confusing.
“If they say you don’t even have to be quarantined after being exposed to someone with known COVID-19, you can’t get on a plane and sit there, masked, with people who probably don’t have COVID-19[FEMININE?Simplementnotésentitcomú”vadir
Els viatges aeri tornen lentament, però encara no han assolit els nivells pre-pandèmics. L’Administració de seguretat del transport (TSA) va examinar diumenge 1.277.719 passatgers i l’última vegada que el volum va ser tan alt va ser el 3 de gener, quan es van examinar 1.327.289 passatgers per vacances.
Dissabte, TSA va examinar 991.547 passatgers. L’any anterior, el 6 de març, l’agència va examinar 2.198.517 passatgers.
La legislació d’alleujament del coronavirus aprovada pel Senat dissabte està prevista per proporcionar ajuda a la indústria. Les companyies aèries van obtenir un augment de 15.000 milions de dòlars i una extensió del Programa de suport a la nòmina, que era una disposició clau de la Llei CARES que havia de caducar l’1 d’abril.
L’extensió permetrà a les companyies aèries mantenir els treballadors en nòmina fins al 30 de setembre.
Quan es va pressionar sobre quina orientació donaria el CDC a un governador sobre les persones vacunades que viatgin de tornada al seu estat, Walensky va emfatitzar que les recomanacions no han canviat.
“La nostra guia de viatge no ha canviat i, per tant, mantindríem qualsevol guia de viatge que hi hagi actualment. Ens agradaria donar l’oportunitat als avis vacunats de visitar els seus fills i néts que estan sans i que són locals, però la nostra guia de viatge actualment no ha canviat “, va dir.
Segons un informe publicat el mes passat, la Iniciativa Nacional de Preparació per al Lideratge de la Universitat de Harvard va trobar “evidències científiques que demostren que seguir un enfocament per capes serveix com una estratègia forta de mitigació del risc per a la transmissió del SARS-COV-2 en un avió”, segons un informe publicat el mes passat.
L’informe, que va avaluar el risc de transmissió de COVID-19 durant els viatges aeri, va trobar una “probabilitat molt baixa” de ser infectat amb COVID-19 des d’un avió i va recomanar seguir l’enfocament multicapa de portar una màscara i distanciar-se físicament mentre s’embarca i es desembarca. .
Wen tem que no permetre que les persones vacunades viatgin puguin significar que les persones no vacunades no estiguin incentivades a considerar la vacunació com un retorn a la normalitat.
“Hem de ser molt més clars sobre les llibertats que pot tenir una persona quan tingui proves de vacunació”, va dir. “Crec que les persones que estan completament vacunades haurien de poder viatjar i, de fet, s’hauria d’animar a viatjar, per descomptat, amb totes les precaucions”.