COVID-19 vaccination registration card issued by the Centers for Disease Control
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US airlines and more than two dozen other industry groups on Monday asked the Biden government to formulate a plan by May to lift restrictions on international travel, including digital vaccine passport standards, after travel have been devastated by the Covid pandemic.
Airlines for America, which represents major US airlines like American, United, Southwest and others, sent a Letter to Jeffrey Zients, coordinator of the White House’s Covid-19 response team, saying 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 that vaccinated people can travel safely, according to a copy of the letter seen by CNBC.
“To be clear, at the moment, we do not support the removal or facilitation of basic public health protections, such as the universal mask mandate, international entrance test requirement, physical distance or other measures that have made travel safer and reduced transmission of the virus, “said the letter, which was also signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest union of flight attendants and other industry groups. “However, the data and science demonstrate that the right public health measures are now in place to effectively mitigate the risk and allow safe removal of entry restrictions.”
Most non-American citizens who have recently been to Europe, the United Kingdom and Brazil have been banned from entering the United States since last March, when then President Donald Trump instituted the rules while Covid-19 spread across the world. In January, President Joe Biden extended entry restrictions and added South Africa to the list because of an increase in infections and new, more contagious variants.
The group also asked the White House to establish standards for digital health documents that can show immigration officials evidence of vaccination or test results.
In the meantime, airlines and authorities are looking for ways to use the digital vaccine or health passports to help stimulate travel and eventually replace travel restrictions. The European Union last week proposed a digital health certificate with a QR code that contains the vaccine and the results of the Covid-19 test.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told NBC Nightly News last week that he expects digital vaccine passports to be necessary for international travel.
The White House declined to comment and pointed to a travel recommendation that CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky gave on Monday.
“Now is not the time to travel,” she said at a news conference.
“We are concerned not only with what happens when you are on the plane, but with what happens when people travel, that is, they leave, mix, mix with people who are not vaccinated,” she said.