Elected officials call for vaccine requirements to be enforced for travel

The new vaccine mandate policy from the Biden administration comes after the surge in delta variant cases, in the city and around the country.

News 12 Staff

Sep 18, 2021, 12:42 AM

Updated 1,114 days ago

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As the coronavirus vaccine mandates roll out all over the city for indoor facilities, some officials are calling for vaccine requirements for air travel. 
Proof of vaccination mandates have been handed to indoor restaurants, fitness centers and now state officials are calling for air travel to be included on that list. 
Rep. Ritchie Torres and City Council member Mark Levine joined together at City Hall Park to urge lawmakers to include air travel in the vaccine mandates that the Biden administration rolled over a week ago. 
The current policy mandates health care workers, federal employees and businesses with over 100 employees to receive vaccinations or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. 
Both Torres and Levine agree that vaccine mandates should apply to air travel because of how many visitors come into the state daily. 
The new vaccine mandate policy from the Biden administration comes after the surge in delta variant cases, in the city and around the country. 
Torres says the cases affect Black and brown people at a disproportionate rate--mentioning the Bronx and his home borough which was ravaged by the coronavirus. 
The officials used a recent study from Monmouth University to back up their claim of requiring proof of vaccinations to fly. In the study, it found that 59% of American support the idea of requiring a vaccine mandate for air travel. 
Vaccine mandates for travel were not included in the recent rollout of mandates from the Biden administration. But the TSA recently announced that that fines will be doubled for passengers refusing to wear a mask.