Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Air Travel Is Back. Cruise Ships, Not So Much.
CIDRAP: Air Travel Up To Pre-Pandemic Levels Across US
As the country prepares for Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, new numbers from federal aviation security officials showed that US air travel hit the highest daily level of the pandemic era on Sunday, the Washington Post reports, with 1.8 million passengers screened. Last year, Memorial Day weekend parties set off a summer surge of infections in swaths of the southern and western United States. But this year, widespread vaccination of US adults means most can gather safely as long as they are fully vaccinated. (Soucheray, 5/26)
The New York Times: To Test Covid Protocols, Cruise Lines Turn To Volunteer Guinea Pigs
Since March of last year, cruise ships carrying more than 250 people have been prohibited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from sailing in U.S. waters. To start again, they need to follow a complex process that, in some cases, involves simulated cruises designed to test Covid-19 protocols. Hundreds of thousands of frustrated and restless cruise fans have lined up to be guinea pigs. Jennifer Juenke is one of them. (Yeginsu, 5/27)
CNBC: It's Not Vaccine Passport, But More Travel CLEAR Post-Pandemic
CLEAR, a New York City-based company that specializes in biometric security and originally got its start speeding travelers through growing airport lines in the post-9/11 era, now sees a major opportunity as the country exits lockdown from the Covid-19 pandemic. CLEAR recently released a product called Health Pass that links Covid-19 health information to biometric identifiers such as your face, eyes and fingerprints. (de León, 5/26)
AP: COVID Vaccine Passport: How It Will Work For International Travel
Boarding pass, suitcase, passport and ... digital vaccination certificate? Keen to avoid losing another summer of holiday revenue to the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union, some Asian governments and the airline industry are scrambling to develop so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports to help kickstart international travel. They're working on systems that would allow travelers to use mobile phone apps to prove they've been vaccinated, which could help them avoid onerous quarantine requirements at their destinations. (Chan, 5/26)
