Truckers association asks Biden to lift border crossing vaccine requirements

Letter ask to lift cross-border vaccine requirements for non-U.S. individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Letter is presented in full below.

Dear President Biden,
With reports that Canada plans to end its COVID-19 cross-border vaccine mandate by
September 30, we ask that you follow suit and end the vaccination requirement for non-U.S.
individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico and
U.S.-Canada borders.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is the largest trade association
representing the views of small-business truckers and professional truck drivers. OOIDA has
over 150,000 members in North America, including nearly 1,000 Canadian drivers. Throughout
the COVID-19 emergency, our members and thousands of other professional truckers have been
risking their lives to deliver critical goods to communities throughout North America. Prior to
January 2022, truckers were safely operating across the U.S-Canadian border to ensure North
Americans had the food and supplies they needed without having to show proof of vaccination or
disclosing any other aspects of their personal medical history. In fact, the Department of
Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency classified truck drivers
as essential to the viability of our nation’s infrastructure because trucking is a core component of
domestic and global trade.

Since commercial drivers spend the majority of their time alone in their vehicle and outside,
there is no evidence that truckers present a higher risk of spreading the virus. Moreover, there is
no evidence that truckers have been the source of any coronavirus outbreaks within the United
States, suggesting that the cross-border mandate is likely to be having little, if any, effect.

OOIDA has always maintained that vaccination is a personal choice just like any health decision,
and we have provided our members with the most up-to-date information about how they can
receive COVID-19 vaccines. But for drivers who have made a decision that doesn’t comply with
the mandate, it has forced them out of business or to change their operations.

Truckers already face difficult working conditions and must comply with an enormous
regulatory burden. The United States’ cross-border vaccine mandate adds another unnecessary
obstacle for them. Even for drivers who may be in compliance, the continuance of the mandate is
just another piece of government red tape for which they have to manage additional paperwork
and possible delays.

In a recent interview, you said yourself that, “The pandemic is over.” With this recognition that
our country has moved passed the pandemic phase of the public health crisis caused by COVID19, we think this is a perfect time to move past these mandates.
Sincerely,
Todd Spencer
President & CEO
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc.

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