Lucas Wall is on a one-man mission to challenge COVID-19 travel rules. He has already filed lawsuits against seven airlines and the TSA in an attempt to overturn the federal face mask mandate and now he is seeking an injunction against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to exempt fully vaccinated Americans from the requirement for a pre-departure Coronavirus test for international return flights to the U.S.
The CDC announced its International Traveler Testing Requirement on January 12 when the vaccination rollout was still in its infancy. Since then, around 44 per cent of all Americans have been fully vaccinated according to data supplied by Our World in Data and a further 8.4 per cent of Americans are partially vaccinated.
Unlike a growing list of other countries, however, the CDC does not exempt fully vaccinated travelers from its pre-departure testing rules even though there is an exemption for travelers who have can prove they have recently recovered from COVID-19 within the last three months.
As a result, fully vaccinated Americans who managed to stay virus-free are required to take a pre-departure test within three days of their return to the United States from an international destination.
The lawsuit names the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, President Joseph Biden, and other federal agencies as defendants.
“I am fully vaccinated from COVID-19 and object to the federal government requiring me to pay for an expensive coronavirus test every time I travel abroad when such a test is completely unnecessary because of my vaccination status,” Wall said in a press release on Friday.
“My medical insurance does not apply abroad, so I’d have to pay for the required test out of pocket. Many millions of Americans also have health insurance that’s not valid out of the country,” he explained.
The CDC recognizes a variety of Coronavirus tests including rapid antigen detection tests (RADT) but even these quicker and cheaper tests can price some people out of international travel. One of the cheapest options is the Abbott BinaxNOW test which is administered via a telehealth service under video-link supervision – but these are only available in a pack of six which costs $150.
Wall is a former transportation reporter and editor who says he has visited 133 foreign countries and taken more than 1,000 flights. But he suffers from General Anxiety Disorder and has found it all but impossible to wear a face mask.
In a lawsuit against seven airlines claiming discrimination for their face mask rules, Wall says Southwest Airlines turned down his mask exemption request – a decision that has left him stranded in Florida.
Wall is demanding $35,188 in damages per alleged violation of ACAA with a total demand of $351,880. This covers eight booked flights from June 2 to July 10.
In his latest lawsuit, Wall is fighting for an injunction against pre-departure testing rules which he argues has exceeded the federal government’s statutory authority under the Public Health Service Act.
The CDC says only fully vaccinated travelers should go overseas but even then a pre-departure test is required before returning because “fully vaccinated travelers might be at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading some COVID-19 variants.”
Fully vaccinated travelers are also advised to get a second test between three and five days post travel, although this guidance is not legally enforced.
