Fauci: US should consider vaccine mandate for US air travel

PHOTO: Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, addresses a briefing on the latest information about the Coronavirus., Photo Date: April 1, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. infectious disease expert says the U.S. should consider a vaccination mandate for domestic travel.

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s comments Monday signal a potential embrace of an idea the Biden administration has previously eschewed.

He says such a mandate might drive up the lagging U.S. vaccination rate as well as confer stronger protection on flights, as infection rates spike.

The Biden administration has thus far balked at imposing a vaccination requirement for domestic air travel. And officials say President Joe Biden’s science advisers have yet to make a formal recommendation for such a requirement to him.

A vaccine mandate for air travel is likely to spark legal challenges.