TSA screeners are facing the vaccination deadline with up to 40% missing vaccinations


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Up to 40% of U.S. airport security checkpoints have not been vaccinated for Covid-19 as the federal employee vaccination deadline and busy vacation travel season converge.

Many Transportation Security Administration officials are opposing the request as the November 22 deadline approaches, said Hydrick Thomas, president of the airport security frontline for the American Federation of Government Employees.

While neither Thomas nor the agency foresee travel disruptions for Thanksgiving just three days later on Nov. 25, the union leader said there could be staff shortages during the December break if the agency takes a tough stance on unvaccinated workers.

“You won’t be ready for Christmas if you get rid of everyone who chooses not to be vaccinated,” said Thomas. “If they don’t take on staff during these upcoming holidays, we’ll have an issue with the screening process.”

He estimated that those who are hesitant represent around four out of ten, but admitted that he didn’t have hard numbers.

The prospect of large numbers of unvaccinated workers raises several questions, including whether or not they increase the risk of transmitting the disease as they encounter many travelers on a daily basis. The TSA requires workers to wear masks and take other precautions against infection. The issue also reflects broader concerns in the aviation industry as some pilot unions object to vaccine requirements and exemptions that they consider too limited.

At the TSA, whose screeners had to work closely with the public during the pandemic, 32 employees have died of Covid-19, according to its website. There are 271 active coronavirus cases among agency employees and more than 11,000 employees became infected during the pandemic.

The TSA, which has just completed a surge in hiring to keep pace with the gradual surge in flights after the pandemic and does not expect any staff losses during the holidays, predicts it will be placing vaccination orders as a result of President Joe Biden’s.

“I don’t think executing the mandate will have any impact on Thanksgiving staffing levels,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske told ABC’s Good Morning America today.

The agency has not released data on staff vaccinations, but Pekoske said it saw a “fairly significant increase”.

TSA spokesman Carter Langston declined to comment directly on Thomas’s estimates, but said the agency made progress by convincing staff to take the shot after it was estimated in early October that 40% the employee did not do this.

“We have made significant progress since then,” said Langston. “I can’t comment on anecdotes, but the compliance rate is very high and we don’t have complete data yet.”

The agency sees the approaching date on Monday “not so much as a cliff, but as a step to continue advising unvaccinated employees,” he said.

When asked if there might be problems in the second half of December, Langston said, “It’s too early to make any predictions about a month’s holiday. We are ready for this vacation travel season. We are occupied and prepared. “

Airlines for America, which represents major U.S. airlines, said ticket sales for travel during the Thanksgiving holiday on November 7th were 12% below the corresponding date in 2019, before the pandemic. That would be higher than ever since March 2020, but is still well below the normal level.

The TSA said in a press release today that it does not expect Thanksgiving trips to hit 2019 record numbers, but they will be “remarkably higher” than current levels.

Federal guidelines state that federal employees who refuse to be vaccinated and do not qualify for a religious or medical exception can be fired, but such measures are not taken immediately. The agencies were instructed to provide information and advice first. That makes layoffs of TSA employees unlikely during the vacation.

“We know we lost too many TSA employees to Covid-19 and that vaccines are the best way to protect our workforce and our communities,” said Langston of the TSA.

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