jgmorgan

6 minutes ago, D C said:

Do the EUAs have an expiry date? I would think they'd continue to be valid regardless of any subsequent full approval. 

It looks like that an EUA is effective until revoked or until conditions no longer meet the EUA criteria.  This quote is taken from the FDA's most recent letter granting and EUA to Moderna (it is identical to the Pfizer letter):

This EUA will be effective until the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of drugs and biological products during the COVID-19 pandemic is terminated under Section 564(b)(2) of the Act or the EUA is revoked under Section 564(g) of the Act.

I think this means that once granted, an EUA will be effective until the Secretary of HHS determines that circumstances no longer meet the criteria for the issuance of the EUA, e.g. (Public health emergency and inadequate approved alternatives available) or the vaccine authorized (in this case) doesn't appear to be safe and/or effective.

However, once a vaccine or vaccines are fully approved, granting further EUA's for Covid vaccines may be problematic.

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I must have missed this with all the stuff that's been going on. I wonder how long it's going to take for the FDA to grant full approval for the Pfizer vaccine?

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/scienceandtechnology/covid-vaccine-what-it-means-if-the-fda-grants-full-approval/ar-BB1gJsX2

Interesting, thanks for posting.

One of the consequences of granting full approval to the Pfizer vaccine may be the elimination of FDA's authority under their rules to give other vaccines still under development an Emergency Use Authorization when have progressed through trials. It appears that an EUA is granted only when there are no approved alternatives.  I haven't kept up with it closely, but is seems like there were a number of trials that were underway and that the FDA had supported financially.  That may influence how quickly they proceed with Pfizer's application.

Or not.

No doubt mask and distancing requirements will continue to be relaxed as time passes, albeit at different rates across the U.S. and other countries.  But, it is interesting to note that the public health strategies employed to deal with COVID (i.e. masking and distancing) have had some pretty dramatic impacts aside from slowing the pandemic.

In the U.S. during the 2019-20 flu season there were roughly 300,000 clinically confirmed cases of influenza reported to the CDC.  (It is estimated that actual clinical testing for influenza only occurs in about 5% of cases).  The current 2020-2021 flu season has seen 2,100 clinically confirmed cases.  There has also been a corresponding decline in deaths resulting from influenza (down from an estimated 22,000 in 2019-20).

Also noteworthy, I thought, is the fact that nearly 50% of U.S. adults received the flu vaccine last year.  So far about 46% of adults in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated for COVID, a disease that has killed

over 26 times as many than the flu.

Go figure.

10 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

I'm actually disappointed that Celebrity has not come out and indicated that vaccinations will be required on cruises for the foreseeable future.  They have instituted this requirement for cruises originating from outside the US, why not continue the requirement for cruises from the US.

Perhaps they want to operate out of Florida and can't effectively do that if they require vaccinations.    With the governor there running for president and wanting to maintain support from the right-wing of his party, he is unlikely to signal a willingness to back-up from Florida's ill-conceived (in my opinion) policy regarding proof of vaccinations.

28 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I doubt that Celebrity has the IT chops to develop the necessary interface.

Celebrity lacks IT acumen?  Surely you jest.

(Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Relevant language from Florida Senate Bill 2006 (2021):

(1) A business entity, as defined in s. 768.38 to include any business operating in this state, may not require patrons or customers to provide any documentation certifying COVID-19 1124 vaccination or post-infection recovery to gain access to, entry upon, or service from the business operations in this state. This subsection does not otherwise restrict businesses from instituting screening protocols consistent with authoritative or controlling government-issued guidance to protect public health.

Thanks for sharing Ken.  Another step closer indeed.

I'm sure the pessimistic untrained eyes will be along soon.🙂

5 hours ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

 

So there’s been a lot of threads circling the subject of Florida, but let me ask more generically, would you cruise if the cruise line did not require proof of vaccination

 

It’s a highly charged issue but let’s try to be civil

 

Personally I don’t think I would .  Not because of the fear of getting Covid (since I’m vaxed), but potentially being stranded on the ship if it gets quarantined.

 

Thoughts?

I agree, although since so much more is known now about the COVID virus maybe it is less likely that a ship would be quarantined as they were in the beginning.  With rapid testing and less fear of the healthcare system being overwhelmed, there are probably different ways to handle a ship returning with some COVID positive passengers. But I probably would not take that risk.  

1 minute ago, Fouremco said:

And those cards are only available to US residents.

True, but I suppose many other countries, especially those with national healthcare programs (e.g United Kingdom, Israel, Italy, etc.) will have "proof of vaccination" mechanisms.  No doubt there are a number of applications under development by tech companies in the U.S. as we speak.

The cruise lines have a very strong incentive to come up with workable plans to get crews vaccinated and figure out verification processes for passengers.   Absolute 100% compliance probably isn't necessary--think about USDA guidelines for reentry to the U.S. for international travelers.  Depending on basic honesty from travelers and the occasional baggage search seems to have worked reasonably well.

Assuming the vaccines continue to exhibit efficacy,  the greatest risk to passengers would be that those who lied about being vaccinated could be infected by others who lied about being vaccinated.  I have to believe that would be a small group.  And, given the apparent transmission characteristics of the COVID virus, exposure risks to residents of cruise destinations would probably not be a great deal higher than it would be without the cruise visitors.  Think about indoor/outdoor settings; duration of exposure, etc.

No matter.  Things are moving in the right direction finally.  Enjoy it.

Similar story.

https://www.cruzely.com/royal-caribbean-mid-july-restart-very-realistic/

I saw it on TV as it was taking place.  I suspect it is or will be on the CNBC website.

Really positive interview just now on CNBC with Richard Fain of RCCL.  Very upbeat about new guidance from CDC and optimistic that summer cruises from U.S. ports are likely.  Said he "was feeling no pain" this morning.😀

16 hours ago, paulh84 said:

Aren't new builds/new releases typically high for a few weeks then they come down to more 'normal' levels? Aside from that, entering the post-COVID world, I'm not sure it's worth comparing what you paid pre-COVID. Profit is the #1 priority now and will be for a long time coming. 

Profit has always been the #1 priority but I understand your point.

Here's hoping that indeed the circumstances are such that cruising from U.S. ports can resume this summer.

A previous poster suggested that the "Biden administration and Florida's governor (a Democrat and a Republican) are against mandating that U.S. citizens show proof of vaccination (e.g., vaccine "passports")"  Best I can tell, this very much misstates the Biden administration position.  It is true that the President and/or his spokespersons have indicated that there would be no federally mandated vaccination requirement and that the any development of a vaccine passport would be left to non-federal government entities.  There has not been, to my knowledge, any indication from the administration that it wouldn't be appropriate (and, expected, based on recent comments by Dr. Fauci) for businesses, local governments, etc. to require vaccinations.

This is a very different position than that stated by the Governor of Florida.

My guess is that vaccinations of all, or virtually all passengers and crew, will be mandated when U.S. cruises are resumed and that seems to me to be a reasonable requirement.  As far as masking, distancing, etc. on a fully vaccinated cruise ships, it will take time for the right policies to be developed and no doubt some folks in these forums will question whatever policies put into in place.

The truth is, I think, that we just don't know enough yet to really understand what needs to be done.  How long does the vaccine protection last?  Can vaccinated people get mild asymptomatic COVID infections that can be passed on to non-vaccinated persons?  What is the true rate of "break-through" infections.  How problematic will variants prove to be?

Until  time passes we just won't know.  So, the policy choices confronting the CDC and state and local public health agencies as they try to balance business and leisure activities against potential public health consequences are difficult at best.

One other thought about an earlier post that suggested it might be difficult to find crew after they had been home for over a year.  On the nine or ten cruises I have been on (all Celebrity) it has always been interesting to talk to crew about their homes and what led them to be where they were.  In every case, it was apparent that the benefits of working on a cruise ship (usually, but always income) exceeded anything they could do at home.  Although I have mixed feelings about it, I suspect that most will be anxious to return to their ships.    

Thanks to all.

Multiple emails to the Celebrity Engagement Center re: delays in receiving a FCC certificate for a Cruise With Confidence cancellation from last April and Captain's Club points for a prior cruise last November have gone unanswered for many weeks now.  Is this a common experience?

I have been hesitant to call since my issues aren't as pressing as those of customers needing immediate assistance.

Just curious.

SHIP: Equinox

CABIN #: 1518

DECK #: 11

CLASS: A2

AREA: forward

BED NEAR: balcony

QUIET?: NO

BALCONY VIEW: unobstructed

BALCONY SIZE: 54 sq. ft.

WIND A PROBLEM?: No

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: Great service from staff but the noise (even with earplugs) from the treadmills in the exercise room above was very bad. This room should be avoided. Celebrity should be ashamed for even selling this room without a very deep discount.:(:(:(:(:(:(