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Published 12:48 IST, December 29th 2021

US: Joe Biden says domestic travel vaccine mandate could be imposed if experts recommend

US President Joe Biden stated he would impose domestic travel vaccine mandate only if his medical team deemed it necessary to do so amid rising COVID cases .

Reported by: Rohit Ranjan
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When asked by the reporters about the decision on domestic travel vaccine requirements, US President Joe Biden stated that he would impose the rule only if his medical team recommends it.

Mandating coronavirus vaccines for domestic travel has been talked about for a while, but Biden’s statement suggests that they are counting on the medical team for the decision. As per the reports of the Hill, White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated that Biden was not ruling out any alternatives, but he would rely on health and medical experts.

When asked about the same last month, Biden said that he would wait for the health experts to make a decision. On Sunday, when asked about his opinion on a domestic travel mandate, Biden's medical adviser Anthony Fauci stated that anything that could get more people vaccinated would be helpful. He also said that they consider everything that comes up as a possibility but insisted that it doesn't guarantee implementation, according to CNN.

Vaccination mandate adds another incentive

Fauci, talking about vaccines, stated that it is not a matter of liking or disliking it. He further claimed that he is in support of doing whatever they can to keep the country safe. He also said that making vaccination mandatory adds another incentive to have more people vaccinated, according to MSNBC. Fauci felt that the government should do something with domestic flights if they deemed it necessary.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky appeared to confirm the president's earlier assertion, saying that the restrictions have been a topic of conversation, according to National Public Radio. The US has imposed a number of foreign travel restrictions during the pandemic. The most recent one was a ban on visitors from South Africa due to the Omicron variant, which was lifted by the White House earlier on Tuesday.

Cases will rise in early 2022

Since the arrival of the Omicron variant in the country, the cases are on the rise. Health officials have cautioned that the cases will skyrocket during the first few months of 2022. However, it has also been said that Omicron is more contagious but less severe, which means it can infect an individual quickly but the ramifications will not be too severe.

Image: AP

12:48 IST, December 29th 2021