Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. and a handful of other House Democrats have expressed their support for a federal COVID- 19 vaccine requirement to be allowed to board airplanes.
Swalwell pushed the idea of an air travel vaccine requirement on Twitter Sunday, writing a prediction that the country can go from 60% Americans vaxxed to 80% if we require vaccines to fly. Rep. Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, reacted to Swalwell a few hours later, pushing his legislation with fellow progressive Rep. Ritchie Torres D-N. Y. to create a vaccine requirement for American airline travelers.
Swalwell was quick to jump on the bandwagon, announcing just minutes later that he would be hittingching himself onto the legislation.
Conservatives have been outspoken against federal vaccine mandates of all kinds, viewing them as government overreach.
Talks on whether the Biden administration will implement a vaccine requirement for air travel have swirled due to the president s ban on international travel from several African countries.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this month that the Biden administration wasn't ruling out an air travel vaccination requirement with the new omicron variant of the novel coronaviruses circulating.
Psaki said that there are some strong protections already in place, including the requirement of mask wearing, so I would say nothing is off the table. The mask mandate will be extended to March 18, adding a doubling of fines if individuals are not complying with the requirement. The mask mandate was due to expire on January 18 after an extension last August.