Have stated that vaccinated travelers do not add additional risks to the country’s population
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in partnership with Airlines for America (A4A) and 28 US and international aviation, travel and tourism stakeholder groups, urged the US government to: to eliminate the pre-departure testing requirement for fully vaccinated air travellers. flying to the US
The vaccinated traveler population does not add additional risks to the US national population. Increased immunity levels, pervasiveness of COVID-19 in all 50 US states, increased vaccination rates and the new therapies aim to eliminate the testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers.
“Omicron’s experience has made it clear that travel restrictions have little or no impact in terms of preventing its spread. Also, since Omicron is already widely present in the US, fully vaccinated travelers pose no additional risk to the local population. International travelers should not face additional screening requirements than those that apply to domestic travel. In fact, at this stage of the pandemic, travel needs to be managed in the same way as access to shopping malls, restaurants or offices,” said Willie Walsh, IATA Director General.
More than 74.3 million people, which is at least 22% of the US population, have had COVID-19, and this is almost certainly an undercount due to asymptomatic infections and limited testing at beginning of the pandemic. When combined with an adult population that is 74% complete on vaccinations, it is clear that the US is developing very high levels of population immunity.
The organizations also noted that the EU has recommended that its member states lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for travel within the EU, and the UK has announced the removal of COVID-19 pre-departure testing for travelers. air travelers vaccinated to enter the country. The UK concluded that the cost of the testing mandate for both passengers and airlines could no longer be justified as there was no evidence that the regime protected the population from COVID-19.
Recent research from Oxera and Edge Health in Italy, Finland and the UK supports the conclusion that travel measures do little to control the spread of COVID-19 when it is already widely present in the local population. Studies found that, if implemented at a very early stage, travel restrictions can, at best, delay the peak of a new wave by a few days and marginally reduce the number of cases.
Additionally, IATA’s most recent air traveler survey showed that 62% of respondents support removing the testing requirement for those who are fully vaccinated.
“Removing the pre-departure testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers will greatly support the recovery of travel and aviation in the US and around the world without increasing the spread of COVID-19 and its variants across the globe. the population of the U.S. It does no good to close the barn door after the horse has run away,” Walsh said.
Source: Twitter @iflymia
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