Burstein and Russo Warn of Spring Travel Risks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated guidance that states fully vaccinated people can travel within the United States without getting tested for COVID-19 or going into quarantine afterward. However, Erie County’s health commissioner, Gale R. Burstein, MD, who is a clinical professor of pediatrics, says between the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and the new contagious COVID-19 variants in the community, she is concerned about spring travel. “I’m really worried that the second half of April we are going to see even increasing numbers of COVID-19,” says Burstein. Thomas A. Russo, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, agrees with Burstein. He says if you are not fully vaccinated, this may not be the best time to travel.