Before the Labor Day holiday weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) People who have not been vaccinated are advised to avoid traveling while the Delta variant continues to spread across the country.
“First of all, if you have not been vaccinated, we advise you not to travel,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters at the White House COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday.
“People who are fully vaccinated and wearing masks can travel,” Varensky said. “However, given our current spread of disease, we would say that people need to consider these risks when considering travel.”
Throughout the pandemic, due to the increase in long weekend gatherings and travel, holidays have been shown to cause an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the following weeks.
Although no vaccine was provided last Labor Day weekend, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 3 million passengers during the holiday weekend—a number that has not been seen since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Now, with the rapid spread of unpredictable Delta variants, officials say that the upcoming holiday weekend makes vaccination crucial.
Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said: “As people across the country prepare for the Labor Day weekend, it is vital that vaccinations are part of their pre-holiday checklist. “Vaccinations are free. It is simple and convenient. It is safe and effective. And it has never been more important.”
Daniel Slim/AFP
The expert guidance seems to reflect Americans’ growing concerns about travel as the Delta variant spreads.
Last week, as COVID-19 cases continued to surge, TSA reported the lowest number of air travel in the summer, with 1.5 million passengers passing through TSA checkpoints on Wednesday, compared to 2.2 million reported in early August.
A new survey by Cars.com also found that one-fifth of people planning to fly by plane canceled their tickets because they were “increasingly worried” and chose to drive to their destination instead.
Not only in the United States, but also in other countries/regions in the world, a surge in cases and hospitalizations has been detected, which has led to federal agencies to upgrade their travel advice to places such as Canada and Switzerland in recent days.
Officials are calling on those who have not yet been vaccinated to be vaccinated not only for travel, but also to avoid serious illnesses caused by the virus.
A new study released by the CDC last week found that people who have not been vaccinated are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than people who are fully vaccinated.
On Tuesday, Varensky made recommendations to Americans to stay safe during long weekends, including gathering outdoors instead of indoors, wearing masks in public and indoor spaces, and encouraging unvaccinated friends and family members to get vaccinated.
She said she hoped that recently Food and Drug Administration Approval and CDC review Pfizer The COVID vaccine will be enough to convince Americans who are hesitant about the vaccine to finally get the vaccine.
“For those who have been waiting for vaccination until we have more evidence of safety and effectiveness, I hope that yesterday’s announcement will allow you to join the ranks of more than 170 million people who have decided to protect themselves from COVID by vaccinating themselves. -19 violations,” Walensky said.
