Feinstein introduces bill to require COVID vaccination or negative test for domestic flights

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would require people to be fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative, or have recovered from COVID-19 to fly domestically.

Driving the news: Some airlines — like United, Frontier and Hawaiian — have already begun requiring their workforce, but not passengers, to be vaccinated against the virus.

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What they’re saying: “Ensuring that air travelers protect themselves and their destination communities from this disease is critical to prevent the next surge,” Feinstein wrote in a news release.

“This bill complements similar travel requirements already in place for all air passengers… who fly to the United States from foreign countries.”

“It only makes sense that we also ensure the millions of airline passengers that crisscross our country aren’t contributing to further transmission, especially as young children remain ineligible to be vaccinated.”

The proposal follows a bill introduced by Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) earlier this month that would require people to provide proof of vaccination or a recent negative test before traveling by air or Amtrak.

Worth noting: NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, who serves as Biden’s top medical adviser, has previously said he would support vaccination requirements for air travel.