TSA extends mask mandate for air travel, public transit into September

WASHINGTON (SBG) — Americans will need to wear masks on planes, trains, and buses through at least Sept. 13 under an order issued Friday, as the public’s desire to return to normal collides with a persistent risk of new coronavirus infections and the nation’s vaccination effort encounters fresh hurdles.

“The federal mask requirement throughout the transportation system seeks to minimize the spread of COVID-19 on public transportation,” said acting Transportation Security Administration head Darby LaJoye. “Right now, about half of all adults have at least one vaccination shot and masks remain an important tool in defeating this pandemic.”

The Biden administration issued a federal mask requirement for air travel and public transit in February, and it was originally scheduled to expire May 11. Friday’s announcement will keep the faces of passengers and employees covered for four more months, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

Airlines and unions had been aggressively lobbying federal officials to extend the mandate, which allows the TSA to fine violators $250 to $1,500. Airline workers had struggled with enforcing company mask requirements before the federal rules were imposed.

“Extending the federal mask mandate for travel is the right move and has the travel industry’s full support,” Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president of the U.S. Travel Association, said Friday. “The universal wearing of masks in the travel environment is both an effective safeguard against spreading the virus and boosts public confidence in traveling—both of which are paramount for generating a sustained reopening of the travel economy.”

With more Americans getting vaccinated and more tourist destinations in the U.S. and abroad opening up, travel is expected to pick up significantly this summer. Industry groups argue a mask mandate is necessary for both public health and business purposes.

“We’ve made tremendous efforts to get the pandemic under control, but we’re not quite there yet,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. “Continuing the TSA enforcement directive for the CDC transportation mask mandate will keep passengers and aviation workers safe.”

As other restrictions on businesses and social activity are relaxed and even states with the stiffest limitations look to ease back to normalcy by early July, experts say extending the mask requirement on public transportation into September is appropriate. Boarding a crowded vehicle with dozens or hundreds of strangers who may or may not be vaccinated still carries risks, and masks alleviate those risks.

“Wearing masks is absolutely the easiest thing anyone can do to prevent the spread of this virus...,” said Dr. Thomas Duszynski, an epidemiologist at Indiana University’s Fairbanks School of Public Health. “When you gather in large places, whether an airplane or bus or train, you’re in that breathable space with other passengers.”

Given the effectiveness of the vaccines available, there is good reason to believe the danger of infection will be considerably lower by the end of the summer. It is difficult to predict whether mask requirements will be justified beyond that point, but frustration and impatience are already starting to emerge.

“Someday, the mask requirement needs to end,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said at a Senate hearing on air travel last month.

Masks have become a highly visible and highly contentious symbol of the pandemic and its effect on daily life. Some Americans have violently resisted wearing them from the start, politicians have seized upon them as a culture war issue, and many people have simply grown weary of wearing them in the 13 months since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first recommended doing so.

President Joe Biden took office urging Americans to keep their masks up for 100 days, and he was fiercely critical of some governors who lifted mandates during that period. His first 100 days are over and the vaccine rollout has exceeded initial expectations, but officials and experts say masks and other mitigation measures serve a purpose for at least a little longer.

"I think by the end of the summer, we will be in a very different position than we are now," Biden said Monday.

The outlook in the U.S. is undoubtedly improving. Average daily new cases have begun to decline in the U.S., though the seven-day average remains above 50,000, and hospitalizations and deaths are also dropping. However, variants continue to circulate, and infection rates are still higher than federal officials would like to see.

“There is more work to be done, but over the past 100 days, we have ramped up our capacity to understand the virus circulating in our midst,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a briefing Friday. “And with 100 million Americans fully vaccinated as of today, we continue to move ahead in our progress to end this pandemic.”

As of Monday morning, more than 56% of U.S. adults had received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 40% had received two doses. Nearly 70% of the population over 65 is fully vaccinated, but vaccination rates still vary widely from state to state and community to community.

At this point, all Americans 16 and older are eligible to get vaccinated, and the federal government expects to have enough doses available for the whole adult population by the end of this month. Any adult who wants a vaccine should be fully protected by mid-summer, but experts stress that does not mean all precautions adopted to combat the pandemic can be quickly abandoned.

“Masking indoors remains our best strategy for protecting anyone that hasn’t yet gotten vaccinated, including those under age 16 who are not yet eligible,” said Dr. Jennifer Horney, a professor and founding director of the epidemiology program at the University of Delaware. “Although new daily cases have been reduced about 80% since the height of the winter surge, remember we are still about where we were last September in terms of new daily cases.”

In recent polls, about 30% of adults have voiced reluctance or outright refusal to get vaccinated for a variety of reasons, and officials say about 8% of those who have gotten the first dose of a two-shot regimen have skipped the second dose. The virus continues to spread rapidly in other parts of the world, as well, and there is a threat of new variants emerging that could prove more resistant to vaccines.

“The longer it takes us to get to herd immunity, the more transmission will continue,” said Dr. Lisa Lee, a public health expert at Virginia Tech and former CDC official. “The more transmission continues, the more chance the virus has to get lucky and develop a mutation that escapes the vaccine, putting us back to a vulnerable place.”

According to The New York Times, public health experts are growing increasingly concerned that the U.S. might not reach true herd immunity anytime soon, if it all. With the pace of vaccination slowing and hesitancy among sectors of the public hardening, prospects for immunizing upward of 70% to 80% of the population are dimming.

Still, experts are hopeful the virus will become much more manageable once the most vulnerable Americans are vaccinated. If infections are primarily limited to the young and healthy, the risks of hospitals becoming overwhelmed and cases spiraling out of control, as they have in some communities in the last year, would be much lower.

“I think this is going to be around for a while, unfortunately,” Duszynski said.

The CDC issued new guidance last week advising vaccinated Americans they can safely go without masks outdoors and relaxing some other recommendations for mask use. For those who have not been vaccinated and for vaccinated people in crowded indoor settings with the unvaccinated, masks are still suggested.

“There are enough data now to show that many outdoor activities are very low risk for COVID transmission, and that is going to come as welcome news to most people as spring turns to summer and more outdoor activities can be done safely,” Horney said.

Several states responded to the updated CDC recommendations by lifting outdoor mask mandates, and others had already eased all requirements for face-coverings. Half of states still require masks in some public settings, but the pressure to relax rules is growing.

Some public health experts have argued the CDC’s revision was too timid, and scientific evidence supports loosening mask restrictions further, particularly for outdoor activities. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, has warned the public might stop listening if official guidance becomes too confusing or too limiting.

“If we don’t lift these restrictions with the same speed and the same efficiency that we imposed them, we lose credibility as public health officials to reimpose them in the future because more of the population will be worried that these are a one-way street,” Gottlieb told CNBC last week.

In an effort to mollify vaccine skeptics, administration officials have framed the opportunity to resume normal activities without a mask as an incentive for getting vaccinated. However, polls suggest many who are refusing to take a shot have already disregarded CDC recommendations and are counting on others getting inoculated to achieve herd immunity.

“I would say that people should follow the CDC guidelines, and they should take advantage of getting the vaccine, getting fully vaccinated, and taking that mask off,” Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to President Biden, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The White House has been questioned about why Biden continues to wear a mask when outdoors or in indoor meetings with others who have been vaccinated. Some say there is value in exercising caution and modeling responsible behavior, but others fear being overly protective will reinforce vaccine hesitancy and mask resistance.

“Over-correction has a price; at best, it makes public health measures seem performative rather than science-based. At worst, it calls vaccine efficacy into question,” said Dr. Leana Wen, former Baltimore health commissioner, in a Washington Post column.

It remains unclear exactly what level of vaccination is required to reach herd immunity, especially taking into account the natural immunity of the tens of millions who have already been infected. What is clear is that the U.S. has not reached that point yet, and getting shots into more arms is the fastest way to get there.

“I know that people are tired and experiencing pandemic fatigue, but with the major progress we’ve made with vaccination since January, we are getting closer to fully re-engaging in pre-COVID life every day,” Lee said.

Despite the public’s uncertainty and exhaustion, experts say continued trepidation on the part of public health officials in easing mandates is warranted. Considering the prevalence of the virus in many communities and the potential for variants to spark another surge, the benefits of mandating mitigation measures in crowded environments like public transportation outweigh the costs.

“The reality is, at this point, it’s too soon to take the mask off,” Duszynski said.