As omicron spreads across the country at alarming levels, the Biden administration is planning on unveiling new protocols for testing and vaccination on Tuesday.
Some government officials believe that the administration needs to take a harder stance on travel and vaccinations as the country deals with the surge.
If someone doesn't have a shot, they shouldn't have a spot during public travel, said Rep. Eric Swalwell of District 15, which represents part of Alameda County and part of Contra Costa County.
Swalwell believes that vaccination should be a hard requirement for air travel and any public transit across the country.
With omicron spreading, the risks are just too high right now to have unvaccinated people in tight quarters, he said, an issue that hits close to home for him.
"I have three unvaccinated kids who are not old enough to get the shot," he told KCBS Radio in an interview Tuesday. "They'd love to get the shot if they could, but when adults who willfully are deciding not to get the shot, are putting them at risk, that's frustrating."
On Monday, Swalwell signed onto a letter from Senator Diane Feinstein to the White House calling on the Biden administration to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for all domestic air travel.
"It's not mandating you get a vaccine, it's just saying if you don't have the shot, there's not going to be a spot for you on a plane," he said.
In Biden’s address on Tuesday, it’s unlikely he will announce new vaccine mandates.
Biden is expected to deploy federal vaccinators, a thousand military medical personnel to help overburdened hospitals and half a billion rapid COVID-19 tests.
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