The Biden administration has praised Covid vaccine entry requirements for travelers to the United States, raising fears that the controversial restriction could last beyond May 11.
Republicans have tried to use their new powers in the GOP-controlled House to scrap the measure, as there is no public data showing a decline in infections or deaths.
But the White House praised the policy in a statement yesterday for “reuniting loved ones around the world while reducing the spread of Covid and the strain it is placing on the health care system in the United States.”
It remains unclear whether the measure will be dropped in May, when the public health emergency due to the coronavirus ends, along with most remaining restrictions and laws.
Despite its continued support for the policy, the Biden administration has acknowledged that the country is nearing “the end of the public health emergency” and that it will let science guide “any termination or modification” of any particular policy.
As the graph above shows, the introduction of a vaccination card for travelers on 8 November 2021 did not stop the influx of Omicron variant Covid cases in the winter of last year. In a statement yesterday, the Biden administration praised the vaccination mandate for “reducing the spread of Covid.”
Travelers await TSA security screening at Orlando International Airport in July 2021. The US Covid vaccine mandate was presented four months later amid the Omicron boom that sent infection rates soaring worldwide
The Covid vaccine passport requires all non-US citizens to have received at least two doses of the vaccine – or an accepted single-dose injection like Johnson and Johnson’s – before entering the country.
Last month, Representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky. Introduced HR 185 – a bill that would halt enforcement of the mandate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandate was originally introduced in November 2021 amid the Omicron wave, which has sent infection rates soaring worldwide as dozens of countries have imposed similar restrictions.
America has extended the order several times, most recently quietly last month, to keep it in place until April 10.
Critics of the Covid vaccination card said it was a “double standard” when many US citizens and members of Congress were not fully vaccinated.
Massie said in a statement on Jan. 12: “If you watched C-SPAN last week, you saw 434 members of Congress in the Capitol yelling, screaming, cheering and talking. Many of these members have not been vaccinated and many have didn’t get a sneaky shot.
So why are we subjecting visitors who want to see their families to this Covid-19 double standard? The CDC’s unscientific mandate separates too many people from their families and has done so for too long. It has to end.’
Experts have increasingly accepted that Covid vaccines – while extremely effective at preventing serious illness – are not very good at stopping infection.
Most countries abandoned so-called “vaccination passports” months ago when they failed to keep infection rates low, leaving the US an outlier in the West.
Almost all European countries, including the United Kingdom, scrapped the measure. Only a handful of countries have retained them, mostly in the Middle East and Africa.
President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address on Tuesday night. He said: “Two years ago, Covid closed our shops, closed our schools and robbed us of so much. Today, Covid no longer rules our lives.
The most effective Covid injections – such as those from Moderna and Pfizer – are estimated to offer up to 90 per cent protection against death in the months following vaccination.
However, due to the rapid mutation of the virus in recent years, it is difficult to know exactly how effective the injections are.
WHO warns that XBB.1.5 is the ‘most transmissible’ Covid variant yet
The Covid strain is spreading rapidly in the US and is responsible for up to 70% of infections.
Experts agree that regardless of the number, the vaccines have had tremendous protective effects, saving an estimated 3 million American lives and preventing 19 million hospitalizations.
But the shots are significantly less effective at stopping transmission, reducing effectiveness to below 30 percent three months after immunization.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky admitted last year that the shots “can no longer prevent transmission.”
The Biden administration last June dropped a requirement for international travelers to the United States to test negative for Covid, but appears unwilling to cave in to the gunfire.
Technically, this means that people can fly to the US even if they test positive for the virus – as long as they have been vaccinated.
The policy also means that unvaccinated US citizens can enter the country as long as they can show a negative test taken the day before departure.
The government acknowledged in its statement that “Covid-19 is no longer the devastating threat it once was”.
It promised to “review all relevant policies” on May 11, including the vaccination card requirement.
The statement reads: “Just as the creation of this public health policy was guided by science, so must any termination or modification of this policy.”
It added that a vote for Mr Massie’s HR 185 bill “undermines this critical principle”.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
