WASHINGTON–The U.S. Transportation Secretary is confident that new COVID vaccine mandates for federal workers and contractors will not impact airline travel over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“I have seen no indication that vaccine requirements are going to impact travel in any way, certainly in terms of our ability as a federal administration to provide the services that are needed,” said Pete Buttigieg, transportation secretary and former mayor of South Bend, in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday.
Buttigieg says about 99% of people have “gotten in their information.”
“That means they’re vaccinated, they’re in the process of it, or they’ve put in a request for their exemption. I expect numbers are similar across the board,” said Buttigieg. “This is about ending the pandemic.”
Buttigieg was asked why there is no federal coronavirus vaccine mandate for air travel.
“Well, there is for international travel. When it comes to domestic travel, we have found other strategies are highly effective. Between the masking and the other travel mitigations, we’re very confident in the safety of air travel,” said Buttigieg.
Buttigieg has also been promoting the new infrastructure bill that President Biden signed last week.
You can watch the full interview with Buttigieg here.
