Currents News Staff
The White House says airplane passengers might get to enjoy mask-less travel without having to worry much about COVID-19. According to White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients, there is a plan in place:
“First, protect against and treat COVID,” Jeff said. “Second, prepare for any new variants. Third, prevent economic and school shutdowns. Fourth, vaccinate the world and save lives.”
Here’s how. Some pharmacies are preparing “Test to Treat” initiatives. They’ll offer free COVID-19 tests. If you’re positive, you’ll go home with an FDA-Authorized antiviral medicine for free.
If new variants emerge, Dr. Anthony Fauci says they also have a plan.
“We are ready to deploy personnel and resources to quickly update the vaccines,” said Chief Medical Adviser to the President Dr. Fauci.
The White House wants people to be able to safely go to work and send their children to school without shutdowns. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to push for more COVID vaccination worldwide. On top of that, officials are considering letting passengers fly without a mask. That mandate expires March 18.
“Transportation’s another arena where I think a lot of us are looking forward to being able to put so many of these pandemic restrictions behind us,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The public transportation mask mandate might end if those numbers drop, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“We see those numbers begin to drop to levels that show that safety can be had everywhere,” said Xavier. “We see that Americans continue to vaccinate. Now we all have to get there working together.”