NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres is pushing the Biden administration to only allow fully vaccinated people on flights – barring few exceptions.
Torres has penned a letter to the TSA and Homeland Security asking for it to adopt the “common sense” mandate, which would carve out exemptions for children who are not eligible for the vaccine; those with a “valid” medical excuse; and international travelers who “may not have the same access” to vaccines.
A travel order could boost vaccination rates and help fight the rapidly spreading delta variant, argues Torres, the vice chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
“History tells us that vaccine mandates are the best hope for breaking the cycle of infectious disease,” said Torres at a news conference Friday outside City Hall with Manhattan City Councilman Mark Levine.
Nearly 30 percent of American adults haven’t received a single dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to public health data.
Torres is working on legislation that would require vaccination before flying domestically or internationally, but he is hoping administrative action could deliver the order more quickly.
“There is a sense in which the delta variant is a weapon,” Torres went on. “It’s a biological weapon; it’s a microbial weapon, and so this fits into the Homeland Security mission of the TSA.”
Levine, the chair of the City Council’s health committee, cited city findings from last year showing that 20 percent of New York City coronavirus cases stemmed from travelers into the city.
“[These cases] are from travelers who come to the city carrying the virus, they are from New Yorkers who travel and return with the virus," Levine said.
The Biden administration has preserved strong travel restrictions barring visitors directly traveling from certain countries, including members of the European Union. But the president is currently planning to lift those restrictions in favor of a new vaccine travel mandate, according to a report in Reuters.
Details on those plans are not yet clear. Even as other countries have opened their borders to US travelers, the White House has insisted that upholding travel restrictions are necessary given the spread of delta.
“Given where we are today with the delta variant, we will maintain existing travel restrictions at this point,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week.