Is it possible to travel responsibly (during a pandemic)?

[Centrals]

Say this were to become widespread, do we go with the existing plan or do better containment?

It all depend on the official view on this matter.
My money is for the existing plan because it is the most economical.
Slightly more far sight is to monitor all those survivors closely for many yrs. The survival rate from this disease is not very high 33% so not that difficult to trace most if not all of them.
There is vaccine for certain type of Ebola. Therefore should start from there first.

The only problem: this is African issue why should we care to the outside world!

The world's second-biggest Ebola outbreak is still raging. Here's why.

How many of us are aware of this?

 

[WeRtheOcean]

Considering that the elderly and high-risk groups are being vaccinated first, this is likely also the first group which will be allowed to travel and visit these destinations.

And when you consider that young people were told to lock down for the sake of those older people, I wouldn't blame any of them for calling foul!

Funny thing -- my Facebook "on this day feed" has been showing me my impressions from the beginning of the pandemic and its restrictions, when none of us knew it would drag on this long. I had forgotten that the US Surgeon General said that we could beat it in 15 days if we did everything we were supposed to. I forgot that my county responded by immediately locking down for 18 days, with the option to extend. I commented then that you knew they would indeed find a reason to extend.

What actually happened to the 15 days the Surgeon General mentioned? The reply is always the same: "It's because people aren't obeying the restrictions" -- even when I do not observe that to be the case.

I am halfway through the two-dose Moderna vaccine regimen. I was able to get it because I am an essential worker. I really feel for you guys who are going to have to wait months or even into next year.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Is this what we (well, some of us) have been waiting for?

COVID-19 and Your Health

Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks and even fully vaccinated travelers are at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading new COVID-19 variants.

CDC recommends delaying international travel until you are fully vaccinated.

This is a change from the CDC's blanket dictum along the lines of "avoid non-essential travel."

I haven't traveled by air in over a year. And once the vaccines started rolling out, we were cautioned that the scientific community was still mulling over the possibility that even vaccinated travelers could transmit the virus asymptomatically to unvaccinated people at their destinations. But now it looks like the CDC has concluded the risk of that is low, and even lower assuming you continue to wear a mask around others whom you don't know are vaccinated. However, all bets are off if you travel to an area where possibly vaccine-resistant variants have become prevalent. Am I interpreting this correctly?

 

[KDAD]

@Lorenzoid sounds like you are interpreting this correctly. I had 37 flights (coming and going) last year and by this time next week I will have had 15. I and everyone I am traveling with this time are all vaccinated. I am a believer in that those vaccinated can get Covid or spread it and will not hesitate to mask and encourage others to as well.

It is easy to get complacent but every now and then I remind myself to be careful. What's the big deal in being careful; it is like insurance, it is nice to have and not need it.

 

[Joneill]

Is this what we (well, some of us) have been waiting for?

COVID-19 and Your Health

Fully vaccinated travelers are less likely to get and spread COVID-19. However, international travel poses additional risks and even fully vaccinated travelers are at increased risk for getting and possibly spreading new COVID-19 variants.

CDC recommends delaying international travel until you are fully vaccinated.

This is a change from the CDC's blanket dictum along the lines of "avoid non-essential travel."

I haven't traveled by air in over a year. And once the vaccines started rolling out, we were cautioned that the scientific community was still mulling over the possibility that even vaccinated travelers could transmit the virus asymptomatically to unvaccinated people at their destinations. But now it looks like the CDC has concluded the risk of that is low, and even lower assuming you continue to wear a mask around others whom you don't know are vaccinated. However, all bets are off if you travel to an area where possibly vaccine-resistant variants have become prevalent. Am I interpreting this correctly?

Typical CDC guidance = doesn’t fully make sense. They say vaccinated folks are low risk and don’t need to test before or after domestic air travel (BTW - who was doing that anyhow as it has not been not a requirement?). Yet, they still need to test before we return to the US? Why? Cases in the US are still rising and variants are already here - so what’s the difference? Either vaccinated folks are low risk or not - regardless of coming from domestic or international locations.

They also say that vaccinated folks don’t need to test before international travel... unless the destination requires it?? WTF - It was never the CDC’s call on the need to test before international travel - it’s been the destination’s requirement.

It’s this messy communication that reduces the credibility of CDC guidance for many!

 

[Jcp2]

There's a distinction being made between personal risk (yes, I am vaccinated and know that I am low risk of getting the disease, so I feel more confident traveling) and moral risk (no, we aren't sure whether your claim to have been vaccinated is true or not, so to be safe, we are asking you to be tested, since we know in our experience that a lot of people aren't truthful if the truth causes them personal inconvenience).

 

[Joneill]

There's a distinction being made between personal risk (yes, I am vaccinated and know that I am low risk of getting the disease, so I feel more confident traveling) and moral risk (no, we aren't sure whether your claim to have been vaccinated is true or not, so to be safe, we are asking you to be tested, since we know in our experience that a lot of people aren't truthful if the truth causes them personal inconvenience).

I would imagine that, for international travel at least, you would need to provide actual proof of vaccination as I’m sure that loads of folks would otherwise lie.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Typical CDC guidance = doesn’t fully make sense. They say vaccinated folks are low risk and don’t need to test before or after domestic air travel ... Yet, they still need to test before we return to the US? Why? Cases in the US are still rising and variants are already here - so what’s the difference? Either vaccinated folks are low risk or not - regardless of coming from domestic or international locations.

My interpretation is that the CDC believes they can keep a closer eye on the rise of variants in the US than they can in other countries. Some variants have already been brought into the US (or evolved here on their own), and they are being studied, but my guess is the CDC sees a real likelihood of more variants arising abroad before they have a chance to study them. Again, I have no idea--just my guess as to what the CDC may be thinking.

They also say that vaccinated folks don’t need to test before international travel... unless the destination requires it?? WTF - It was never the CDC’s call on the need to test before international travel - it’s been the destination’s requirement.

The CDC is writing to a wide audience, all of whom may not appreciate the difference between what the CDC says you should do and what your destination country says you should do. In other words, I believe the CDC is saying "we don't have the last say on whether you need to test before international travel--your destination country has the last say." The State Dept. writes for a similarly wide audience when they say your destination country might require a visa. It's amazing how many eager travelers don't even know what a visa is when they start making travel plans.

 

[Rose Robinson]

There have been so many threads and deleted posts about covid and travel that I thought I would start a thread devoted to safe(er) travel. And yes, I have a Florida trip and 2 Liveaboards planned so far for this year.

Hello UN,

Whether it's diving or anything else, you can be as responsible as you like, it's the irresponsibility of others that will get you into trouble.

As far as airports, foreign country arrival/departure terminals, foreign country lodging. now would be a very bad time.

A lot of Canada has just entered another lockdown for the complete month of April.

There vaccination serum shortages.

The new COVID variants are not to be taken lightly.

Rose.

 

[Joneill]

My interpretation is that the CDC believes they can keep a closer eye on the rise of variants in the US than they can in other countries. Some variants have already been brought into the US (or evolved here on their own), and they are being studied, but my guess is the CDC sees a real likelihood of more variants arising abroad before they have a chance to study them. Again, I have no idea--just my guess as to what the CDC may be thinking.

And that is exactly the issue: they need to be very clear so folks don’t need to interpret - otherwise you risk tons of misinterpretation and questioning!

The CDC is writing to a wide audience, all of whom may not appreciate the difference between what the CDC says you should do and what your destination country says you should do. In other words, I believe the CDC is saying "we don't have the last say on whether you need to test before international travel--your destination country has the last say." The State Dept. writes for a similarly wide audience when they say your destination country might require a visa. It's amazing how many eager travelers don't even know what a visa is when they start making travel plans.

Then they should have simply said “For international travel, refer to requirements of the destination” instead of “For international travel, fully vaccinated people don't need a Covid-19 test prior to travel -- unless it is required by the destination”. That makes it sound like the CDC really doesn’t think you need it - which is bad messaging.

Unfortunately, I’ve been less than impressed with the messaging clarity and consistency from CDC (and WHO) throughout this pandemic.