NEW YORK — A Congressman and a councilman are calling for mandatory vaccines for those wishing to travel the skies.
On Friday, Rep. Ritchie Torres — who represents New York’s 15th District — and Councilmember Mark Levine, who chairs the council’s health committee, will call on the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration to only permit fully COVID-vaccinated individuals to fly on airplanes.
The two cite the emergence of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and a June 2021 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that a vaccine mandate to fly would significantly increase vaccine rates.
Torres will detail a new letter calling on DHS and TSA Administrators to require vaccination in order to fly domestically and internationally, and new legislation concerning this mandate.
The event will be held at City Hall Park.
Torres spoke with the PIX11 Morning News on Friday to give more details into how he and Levine think the plan could work, and why they believe it’s a crucial step in curbing the virus amid a surge in cases as the delta variant grows.
Watch the full interview at the top of this post.
