Indonesia closed for foreigners 01 - 14 January 2021

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Can we get back to the closure of Indonesia please? Still hoping for Raja Ampat...eventually.
Agreed - have a LOB trip planned for next Feb - still holding out hope, but will reschedule as need be if they decide to keep the boarders closed.
 
I have a trip to Bunaken in March. I am pessimistic, and looking at alternatives.
 
Agreed - have a LOB trip planned for next Feb - still holding out hope, but will reschedule as need be if they decide to keep the boarders closed.

Since Bali would be the first island in Indonesia to be opened to foreign tourism by April 2022, I would just wait until Bluewater Travel asking me to reschedule it.

I would do the same thing with my August 2021 to Sangalaki on White Manta. Do nothing & wait. In the meantime I’ll go to other places that are open & begging for us to come, like Socorro, Cocos, Galápagos, etc.
 
Bloomberg news is reporting that Bali may open to foreign travelers as soon as June 2021. There is mention of a travel corridor but that is not further defined (though I’m pretty sure the USA will not be in it). hard to say what will actually happen.

Indonesia Considers Reopening Bali to Foreign Tourists in June

At the moment and near future there are no vaccines available. An the target for this program is only 7.5 million doses. More than 6,600 firms have said they are keen on the program, which is set to need about 7.5 million doses, said State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.

Two millions Balinese would have been vaccinated by June!!!! False or true?
 
I have a trip to Bunaken in March. I am pessimistic, and looking at alternatives.
Coincidentally a couple of days ago I received the following e-mail from a dive operator on Bunaken.
I am posting this for people to get an idea of how things are over there.
(I have removed the name of the operator as I am not sure they would like it to get public).

It has now been a year since our last guests left Bunaken Island.
Covid-19 brought international tourism to a halt. In a country like
Indonesia we were prepared for many disasters, but we could never have
imagined anything like this. We closed our doors on March 16, 2020 and
we have no income since then.

The first few months were fine. Being forced to stay home in a place
like this is not a punishment. It felt a bit like a vacation. Although
we launched a brand new dive boat in January 2020, we were confident
we still had enough savings to be able to make it through this crisis.
Most resorts on the island immediately put their staff on hold
(without pay). We did not think that was an option, so we let our
staff continue working for heavily reduced hours and a halved salary.
We expected that we would be able to reopen in October. But nothing
could be further from the truth.

With still no end in sight, we started to get a little nervous about
our rapidly dwindling savings. In order to safeguard the future of
XXXXXXXX, we finally had to decide with pain in our hearts to give
all staff unpaid leave as of January 1, 2021.

Since almost everyone on Bunaken is dependent on tourism in one way or
another, there is now very little money on the island. There is plenty
of food. Everyone is fishing and growing cassava, rice, peppers,
bananas and corn. But if you have a child in high school or college in
Manado, or if a family member ends up in the hospital, bills have to
be paid. Families who have bought essential items on loan are now
struggling with payments and debts. There is an extensive trade in
second-hand goods to get some money. People also withdraw their
pension money en masse, which will again cause financial problems in
the long term. The government hardly helps. There is little concern
here about getting ill from corona, but the economic consequences of
this crisis are enormous.

We are doing well and we are confident that once this is over,
travelers will be able to find us again. We hope that we may be able
reopen this fall, although we hear now that it may be April 2022
before Indonesia will open the borders for international travelers.
Until then, we are concerned about our staff. They have to support
their families and some of them have children in college. They don't
complain, but we know they are having a hard time. We find it very sad
that we are no longer able to pay them a (reduced) monthly salary.

We therefore feel compelled to ask for your help. We hope that you -
along with our other former guests - have the opportunity to keep
these Indonesian families going with a donation. Any amount is
welcome. If you stay with us again in the future, we will be happy to
deduct half of the amount you donated from your bill. And if your
future trips go somewhere else and you miss out on this offer, we hope
you have such good memories of your stay with us that you will still
want to help.

We thank you in advance for your support. Let's hope we all will be
able to travel again soon.

With best regards,
 
Capitalism Is What Will Defeat Covid - WSJ, by Allysia Finley, March 19, 2021

We would never be in the position where we are today if we had not invested billions of dollars over decades so that we could respond,” Mr. Gorsky, 60, says in an interview the Monday morning after the FDA authorized its Covid vaccine.

Scientists over the past couple of decades have been studying a potentially more efficient and effective method known as a “vector vaccine”: using genetically engineered viruses to prime the immune system by delivering parts of a pathogen’s genetic code into human cells. Our cell machinery then manufacturers the dopplegangers. The harmless look-alikes trigger an immune reaction, marshaling antibodies and white blood cells. When the real pathogen invades, the immune system is prepared.

About 85% of vaccine candidates fail in trials, and those that succeed have historically taken 10 to 15 years to develop. It seems like an incredible stroke of luck and science that we have so many Covid-19 vaccines so soon. But it’s more than that. Credit years of research and investment by drug makers, as well as government collaboration during the pandemic, which Mr. Gorsky hopes will outlast the pandemic.

“I think this is a golden moment, not only for Johnson & Johnson, but the biopharmaceutical industry,” he says. “We fundamentally believe that having a market- based, innovation-based, biopharmaceutical as well as a medical-technology environment, is critical long term to produce the best overall outcomes for healthcare.”
 

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Capitalism Is What Will Defeat Covid - WSJ, by Allysia Finley, March 19, 2021

We would never be in the position where we are today if we had not invested billions of dollars over decades so that we could respond,” Mr. Gorsky, 60, says in an interview the Monday morning after the FDA authorized its Covid vaccine.

Scientists over the past couple of decades have been studying a potentially more efficient and effective method known as a “vector vaccine”: using genetically engineered viruses to prime the immune system by delivering parts of a pathogen’s genetic code into human cells. Our cell machinery then manufacturers the dopplegangers. The harmless look-alikes trigger an immune reaction, marshaling antibodies and white blood cells. When the real pathogen invades, the immune system is prepared.

About 85% of vaccine candidates fail in trials, and those that succeed have historically taken 10 to 15 years to develop. It seems like an incredible stroke of luck and science that we have so many Covid-19 vaccines so soon. But it’s more than that. Credit years of research and investment by drug makers, as well as government collaboration during the pandemic, which Mr. Gorsky hopes will outlast the pandemic.

“I think this is a golden moment, not only for Johnson & Johnson, but the biopharmaceutical industry,” he says. “We fundamentally believe that having a market- based, innovation-based, biopharmaceutical as well as a medical-technology environment, is critical long term to produce the best overall outcomes for healthcare.”
Meh don't believe everything you read. Many of these Vaccines for example Astrazenca are made the old fashion way. The two mRNA ones are new but the Efficacy of it is not as high now as it was when it was first released, (New Variant issues).

Anyway the point I am making is that while Capitalism did play a hand in the speed of the Vaccination release, the biggest hand was from the short cut testing and parallel testing the FDA and WHO allowed. A normal vaccine that is tested for 5 years has very little Unknowns in regards to how it will affect people in every age group and people with numerous various pre existing conditions.


All the Covid Vaccines on the Market now where given to healthy people in a specific age group so that we could speed up the certification. The group they gave it to is the easiest to test. Try getting people to Inject their 5 year old with an experimental vaccine and the difficulty level goes up 100 fold.

The recent blood clot issue with the AstraZeneca seems to be due to Rare Auto immune disorder some people have. This is something that would have been found in a normal 5 year cycle of testing, but now we find these things out on the fly because it's necessary. The Benefits far outweigh the risks.

Just to Clarify a statement about Efficacy and spreading the Virus. I find that most people have a misconception about this. 95% Efficacy means that there is a 95% that you cannot contract the Virus at all! You may breath it in but your body will destroy it within a couple of hours and it will not spread, you will not be contagious. The other 5% of people may catch the disease but most will only get a mild flu for a day or so.
So far no one has gotten seriously ill or died that was vaccinated.
 
Bulloks. UK data already shows a huge drop in transmissions, and they are split 50/50 between BioNTech and AZ; surprisingly enough AZ shows better performance after the first shot comparedto BioNTech. The issue all over the EU is that we do not have enough vaccines; as a matter of fact the EU has exported more vaccines to countries outside the EU than remaind in the EU as at present it is the only source for Moderna and BioNTech for countries that are not called USA.
NO vaccine can absolutely stop the spreading of the virus!
Huge drop does not = no transmission.
Europe(EU) has vaccine shortage? What is the reason? One of them is the suspension of AZ in several countries. Is that politically or scientifically motivated? Who know?
Germany warns of vaccine shortages as new COVID wave hits Europe

Countries resume AstraZeneca vaccine rollout after reassurances

Made more sense.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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