Doctors fear that more travelers could mean a greater spread of COVID variants. PHOENIX (3TV / CBS 5) – Doctors say we are in a race against time as more and more travelers get on planes and many are still not vaccinated. “Everywhere we go, we take variants with us,” said Dr. Shad Marvasti, Associate Director of Public Health and Prevention at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix. “If someone in New York and the Midwest, in any other part of the world, is infected with the variant and comes to Phoenix, Sky Harbor, they bring the variant with them.” There were a few travelers at the Sky Harbor baggage claim on Tuesday nervous about crowds and COVID-19 while others are not worried. “I still find it kind of scary because we don’t have a priority,” said Susan Luch, a vaccinated traveler from Michigan. “It just seems like a really bad flu, and people can die from a really bad flu, so I see no reason to get vaccinated,” said Theresa Diaz, a traveler from Chandler to over one and a half million travelers on Monday nine times what we saw on that date last year. “We’re basically breeding ground for new varieties to be introduced here, and we just have to hope that more people will be vaccinated quickly enough so that we can protect ourselves from the variants before one is developed that will escape the vaccines,” Marvasti said . TSA extends transport mask requirement until September 13th He says COVID-19 strains from multiple locations have been put on a list as “worrying variants” or “interesting variants”. “We haven’t tested enough for variations so we may not know how far they are, even though they’re among us,” said Marvasti. “We are basically a temptation to fate,” said Marvasti. (Source: 3TV / CBS 5) That’s a big reason why he wants everyone to get the vaccine as soon as possible. Marvasti says the vaccine and antibodies against some variants may not be as effective. He doesn’t want unvaccinated travelers to spread more cases. “It’s worrying and we’re basically a temptation to fate,” said Marvasti. “I would be afraid to travel if I didn’t have the vaccines,” Luch said. Copyright 2021 KPHO / KTVK (KPHO Rundfunkgesellschaft). All rights reserved.
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