Experts need COVID-19 mandates to reach herd immunity. Start by requesting proof of an aviation vaccine
America at the crossroads of COVID-19. For the first time since highly effective vaccines became widely available in the spring, the rate of new cases is back on the rise due to the spread of the more contagious delta variant and stalled efforts to vaccinate people in many parts of the country.
According to medical experts, access to herd immunity requires that 70% to 90% of the US population be fully vaccinated. But although enough vaccines are available to vaccinate every eligible American age 12 and older, less than 50% of the US population is fully vaccinated.
Even worse, the current vaccination rate of about 500,000 per day would take another nine months to cover only 75% of the population. This would give the dangerous and most contagious variants of COVID a chance to gain a foothold and perpetuate the epidemic.
President Joe Biden and COVID czar Jeff Zentes deserve enormous credit for making void-19 vaccines widely available and bringing focus and discipline to the pandemic dysfunction in the White House that they inherited from former President Donald Trump. But relying on incentives and awareness can only get us so far, wildly, when some irresponsible politicians are fanning suspicions about vaccines and outright hostility.
To reach herd immunity within a reasonable time, the Biden administration will need to add some targeted vaccine mandates to its arsenal — an obvious first step is to require proof of vaccination when boarding a plane.
According to several legal experts, the president has the power — starting with the laws creating by the CDC to require all airlines to require ticket holders to provide proof of complete vaccination.
By disrupting the spread of COVID-19 in transportation hubs where individuals assemble and come into contact with other geographic areas and by creating another incentive to vaccinate adults, the airline vaccine requirement will help end the pandemic.
To be sure, even targeted authorization for airline passengers will fuel the rage machine in Fox News and other right-wing propaganda outlets. Trump's zealous Republicans and anti-vaccination campaigners can be expected to denounce any vaccine as an attack on Americans' fundamental "liberties."
Nowhere in the Bill of Rights will conservatives find a right to infect others with a fatal disease. In addition to defending our civil liberties, the government is responsible for promoting public welfare and protecting citizens from harm. No reasonable person would consider requesting a license to drive a car or fly an airplane a form of tyranny.
Citizens also have responsibilities to their communities and their country. Americans have demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice their interests and endeavors for the greater good. Amid the resurgence of COVID-19 and widespread hesitation about vaccines, we are facing such an emergency today.
Walking carefully does not work
This is why it is unpatriotic for anti-vaccination advocates to feed the public with false information about the efficacy and safety of vaccines. He's also reckless. According to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, more than 99% of people who die from COVID-19 are not immune.
President Biden will be on solid ground in invoking the principle of mutual responsibility as antithetical to the strangely antisocial concept of freedom. The vaccination requirement for air passengers will not compel anyone to be vaccinated; It will leave them to choose whether refusing a vaccine is more important than being able to fly.
Speed it up, FDA: Full approval of COVID vaccines will get shots in the arms and save lives.
In purely legal terms, the Biden administration has good authority to protect the health and safety of passengers and citizens. Politically speaking, the president and COVID-19 vaccines are already under attack by extremists. It will only worsen if cases spike again and we see the return of mask mandates, like those just brought back in Los Angeles County.
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