80 million unvaccinated Americans should stay at home and not travel over the upcoming Labor Day weekend according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a new pandemic advisory which is aimed at stemming the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant.
In a briefing at the White House, the CDC’s director Dr Rochelle Walensky said it was too risky for unvaccinated Americans to travel amidst a deadly surge of COVID-19 infections.
“Given where we are with disease transmission right now, we would say that people need to take their own these risks into their own consideration as they think about traveling,” Walensky commented at the briefing. “If you are unvaccinated, we would recommend not traveling.”
Although Walensky’s latest comments are making headlines, the advice doesn’t differ from official months-old CDC guidance: “Delay travel until you are fully vaccinated”.
But along with effective masking, the CDC says that Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 “can travel safely within the United States” and that “fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19”.
While the Biden administration has refused to issue vaccine or testing mandates for domestic travel, the U.S. Travel Association welcomed Walensky’s latest intervention.
“As Labor Day weekend approaches—a traditional peak for leisure travel—the CDC recommendation to unvaccinated individuals is a further reminder that vaccination is the fastest path to normalcy for all, including for widespread travel,” commented the association’s vice president of public affairs Tori Emerson Barnes.
Fearing that a pandemic of the unvaccinated could set the travel and airline industry’s back to the darkest days of the outbreak, Barnes continued:
“In 2020 alone, the pandemic resulted in a $500 billion loss in travel spending that cost the U.S. $1.1 trillion in economic output. Great strides have been made to combat the virus and restore the U.S. economy, and we cannot afford to backslide.”
With the peak summer season fading away and delta infections on the rise, U.S.-based airlines have seen a dip in flight bookings and some, including the likes of American Airlines and Southwest, have been forced to adjust their earning forecasts down against a more pessimistic outlook.
To date, just 72.4 per cent of eligible Americans aged 12 and over have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. A mere 61.5 per cent are considered fully vaccinated despite vaccines supplies being plentiful across the United States.
Despite pandemic worries, as many as one in five Americans are planning on traveling over the Labor Day weekend.
Ive had COVID. Im 13 times less likely to get COVID than someone who has been vaccinated. Vaccinated people are getting COVID and spreading COVID. So beat it and go get your 7th booster shots.
So you only get Covid on Labor Day weekend. Be full of fear.
Seriously it is a real deal in many areas. The hype that people like Steve are spreading is not helpful. The argument from anti-vaxxers is that “You can still get Covid if you are vaccinated” or “More vaccinated people are getting Covid than unvaccinated”. While it is true that anyone can get Covid the impact for most vaccinated people is much less and they are about 97% less likely to get it in the first place. Unvaccinated people are more at risk than they have been in past months. If Steve really wanted to be safe he would get vaccinated but that is between him and his doctor. I am not suggesting that people should get vaccinated if it isn’t right for their health situation but spreading false information or getting all your medical advice from social media is never a good idea. The CDC is just about as bad with the hype they spread. If they truly feel that holiday travel is so dangerous they should ask that no one travel. Of course, travel by airplane is perfectly safe and has never spread Covid as long as you wear a paper mask.