If Royal Requires A Covid-19 Vaccine Before Cruising Will You Get It???

[ace2542]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

 

Covid 19 testing is being mandated. Mandating a vaccination when they become available is definitely a possibility. I expect that by the time that happens, if it does, you will have time to cancel and get a refund.

 

 

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Would a ship the ability to do the testing onboard? I don't know about RCL but on NCL Pearl the medical centre is a 3 beds with curtains around in rooms and an a doctor in the office a couple of nurses and maybe an xray machine and a little bit of a lab doing a few little tests. I doubt that little lab can do 3k covid tests over and over again?

[BND]

On 10/4/2020 at 1:56 PM, flyguyjake said:

The vaccines may not have the 80% efficacy needed to extinguish the pandemic. It's been reported that these vaccines will only provide a 50-65% efficacy. FDA said the minimum for approval is 50%. If the vaccines only provide 50%-60% efficacy we will still have to maintain the same covid prevention protocols such as social distancing and wearing masks. Personally I would get a vaccine but I think it's been promoted as a magic cure and it will definitely not be that.

Reported where?  I cannot find anywhere that efficacy has been reported, yet.  I have seen reports of high levels of immune responses among those being tested. 

 

The flu vaccine for example only reduces the risk of flu illness by 40-60%.  What the flu vaccine mainly does is reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths by a great deal.  It makes the flu less deadly by preventing secondary infections and lessening symptoms in those that do catch it.  

 

Also, the reality is, the purpose of the vaccine is to prevent death and hospitalizations, not necessarily an illness.  The expected outcome is more likely that people will have cold-like symptoms at most.  I'll take that in a heartbeat.

[BND]

37 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

People will get the "tetanus arm" effect unfortunately as you are having a needle stuck into your arm and kept there for a few seconds and you may move a little bit as a result so it and prods around a bit. Sadly  that magical needleless injector off star trek that even works through clothing has not been invented yet! 😁

I'll take a sore arm and other mild reactions in a heartbeat.  The worst reaction I've ever had was to the Shringrix vaccine which is reported to have a high percentage of mild-moderate reactions, yet most are willing to get it to prevent Shingles.  

 

What I see in the general population is the expectation that life is supposed to be perfect and "fair".  Well, life isn't fair and there are a lot of things that people do that are a lot less safe than getting vaccine reactions, yet they still would prefer to hide out instead of taking any risk of any kind involving medicine.  Some of the same people think nothing of rock climbing, sky diving, etc but are afraid of getting a vaccine.

Edited October 6, 2020 by BND

[keyboardjunkie]

59 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

Would a ship the ability to do the testing onboard? I don't know about RCL but on NCL Pearl the medical centre is a 3 beds with curtains around in rooms and an a doctor in the office a couple of nurses and maybe an xray machine and a little bit of a lab doing a few little tests. I doubt that little lab can do 3k covid tests over and over again?

 

The ship medical center is not expected to test every person.  They are only expected to test those individuals who display symptoms.  Here is the info from the Healthy Sail report:

 

First, guests (crew requirements are different) are:

 

Boarding: "....All guests joining a ship, regardless of method of travel to the ship, should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 between 5 days and 24 hours before boarding and receive a negative result that is shared with the cruise operator, before coming on board. "  AND At embarkation, all guests and crew boarding the ship should undergo health screening to identify any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (or other infectious diseases) and any contact with individuals suspected or confirmed to have a SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to the cruise." AND "All individuals should have their temperature taken via contactless device as part of the boarding process."  AND In addition to the information typically communicated at booking, guests should be provided sufficient information on SARS-CoV-2 to assess their individual risk, to fully understand the safety precautions being taken by the cruise line to address SARS-CoV-2, and to agree to comply with the necessary safety protocols while traveling. "

 

After Boarding:  "Cruise operators should conduct once-daily temperature checks for guests and crew on board." AND   "Cruise operators should employ routine symptom screening methodologies to help ensure that potential SARS-CoV-2 infections are identified as quickly as possible."  AND "Potential symptom screening methodologies include guests self-reporting through a mobile application or in-person symptom screenings performed by a stateroom attendant or other ship personnel."

 

So once a guest arrives at the pier with a negative test, goes through a more extensive health screening (similiar to the questions we all have answered in the past concerning the NoroVirus - just more related to COVID), are told what the ramifications of sailing during COVID are, agree to follow the safety being imposed (i.e. masks, etc.), and have their temperature checked they are ready to board.  Once on board, they will have a daily temperature check (usually afternoon or evening per the report) and a symptoms check.  Only if the guest shows symptoms will the medical center become involved.

 

[keyboardjunkie]

2 hours ago, TheMastodon said:

"SeNdInG KiDs BaCk To CoLlEgE WiLl Be A DiSaStEr"

 

 

 

One of the reasons that some of the universities have higher numbers is that they contain medical schools.  The students have internships at teaching hospitals where they have a greater exposure to the disease.  For example, the Univ, of Alabama shows 2,861 cases but about 1,000 of these cases are tied to the medical program there.  It also is important to note that there is no clear COVID definition for the universities concerning what they need to report.

 

If anyone wants to look at a specific university, see the NY Times article ( https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/covid-college-cases-tracker.html ).

There is a link where a specific school can be inputted to see that school's data.

[ace2542]

2 hours ago, keyboardjunkie said:

 

The ship medical center is not expected to test every person.  They are only expected to test those individuals who display symptoms.  Here is the info from the Healthy Sail report:

 

First, guests (crew requirements are different) are:

 

Boarding: "....All guests joining a ship, regardless of method of travel to the ship, should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 between 5 days and 24 hours before boarding and receive a negative result that is shared with the cruise operator, before coming on board. "  AND At embarkation, all guests and crew boarding the ship should undergo health screening to identify any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (or other infectious diseases) and any contact with individuals suspected or confirmed to have a SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to the cruise." AND "All individuals should have their temperature taken via contactless device as part of the boarding process."  AND In addition to the information typically communicated at booking, guests should be provided sufficient information on SARS-CoV-2 to assess their individual risk, to fully understand the safety precautions being taken by the cruise line to address SARS-CoV-2, and to agree to comply with the necessary safety protocols while traveling. "

 

After Boarding:  "Cruise operators should conduct once-daily temperature checks for guests and crew on board." AND   "Cruise operators should employ routine symptom screening methodologies to help ensure that potential SARS-CoV-2 infections are identified as quickly as possible."  AND "Potential symptom screening methodologies include guests self-reporting through a mobile application or in-person symptom screenings performed by a stateroom attendant or other ship personnel."

 

So once a guest arrives at the pier with a negative test, goes through a more extensive health screening (similiar to the questions we all have answered in the past concerning the NoroVirus - just more related to COVID), are told what the ramifications of sailing during COVID are, agree to follow the safety being imposed (i.e. masks, etc.), and have their temperature checked they are ready to board.  Once on board, they will have a daily temperature check (usually afternoon or evening per the report) and a symptoms check.  Only if the guest shows symptoms will the medical center become involved.

 

I have an old fashioned so called track phone not a modern day smart or iphone so I won't be able to get anything via any app. I may struggle to obtain results of any test I would need printout oh and I don't have easy access to a printer.

[keyboardjunkie]

We won't have to worry about COVID testing for cruising for a little bit:

 

Just received (4:00 PM):

 

Dear Guest,

We hope that this email finds you healthy and safe and that with each passing day, we’re closer to getting back to a more regular day-to-day. While this is like nothing any of us have ever experienced, we continue to evaluate how it impacts our upcoming sailings.

As you know, this pandemic has been, and still is, quite fluid. Our most recent plan was to resume operation on October 31^st, 2020. However, to ensure we have ample time to focus on our healthy return to service initiatives, our global suspension has been extended through November 30^th, 2020, with a plan to resume operation on December 1^st, 2020. As a result, your sailing will unfortunately be cancelled.

We’re terribly sorry for the impact to your vacation. Despite the current circumstances, our primary goal continues to be a seamless healthy return to service. We’re so focused on welcoming our guests back, we’ve teamed up with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., and assembled the “Healthy Sail Panel” - a multifaceted team of globally recognized experts. The panel will work alongside our new Public Health & Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Calvin Johnson, and with their help our vision is to pioneer innovative ways to guide the cruise industry’s way forward in response to the pandemic. It goes without saying, we’re all in this together.

[mek]

17 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

This is absolutely false information.  I am in the Pfizer study in Orlando.  Our vaccine study phase 3 with 45,600 people, is well documented as is Moderna, phase 3, plus J&J, just completed phase 2, all near 100% effective at producing antibodies well above what is required to ward off COVID.  It produces viral loads similar to Shingrex or small pox, nothing like the flu which is comparing apples to broccoli.  Covid is a stable virus with a small number of variants of similar structure, all can easily be covered by a vaccine.  The flu has thousands of strains.

 

I received the vaccine and the booster.  I have had my antibodies tested several times and will again this week.  I believe I had the vaccine as several hours after the injection and the booster, I began to develop “tetanus shot arm.”  Very sore for a few days.  I also felt under the weather the next day.  Half of our group had the same symptoms, the other half had no symptoms.  We were told and it was stated in our informed consent forms that the placebo is simple saline and nothing would be added to mimic side effects of the vaccine.
 

Honestly, I have been vilified for participating in this study and reporting the positive results.  I don’t care if anyone is unhappy with my first hand, in the study, experience and the excellent results that have been published.  There are some people who just love the drama and negativity of all that is COVID.  I do, however, take exception to the spread of completely false statistics.

I appreciate your feedback and hope you continue to keep us in the loop.  I plan on getting the vaccine as soon as it is made available to me.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, keyboardjunkie said:

 

The ship medical center is not expected to test every person.  They are only expected to test those individuals who display symptoms.  Here is the info from the Healthy Sail report:

 

First, guests (crew requirements are different) are:

 

Boarding: "....All guests joining a ship, regardless of method of travel to the ship, should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 between 5 days and 24 hours before boarding and receive a negative result that is shared with the cruise operator, before coming on board. "  AND At embarkation, all guests and crew boarding the ship should undergo health screening to identify any symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (or other infectious diseases) and any contact with individuals suspected or confirmed to have a SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to the cruise." AND "All individuals should have their temperature taken via contactless device as part of the boarding process."  AND In addition to the information typically communicated at booking, guests should be provided sufficient information on SARS-CoV-2 to assess their individual risk, to fully understand the safety precautions being taken by the cruise line to address SARS-CoV-2, and to agree to comply with the necessary safety protocols while traveling. "

 

After Boarding:  "Cruise operators should conduct once-daily temperature checks for guests and crew on board." AND   "Cruise operators should employ routine symptom screening methodologies to help ensure that potential SARS-CoV-2 infections are identified as quickly as possible."  AND "Potential symptom screening methodologies include guests self-reporting through a mobile application or in-person symptom screenings performed by a stateroom attendant or other ship personnel."

 

So once a guest arrives at the pier with a negative test, goes through a more extensive health screening (similiar to the questions we all have answered in the past concerning the NoroVirus - just more related to COVID), are told what the ramifications of sailing during COVID are, agree to follow the safety being imposed (i.e. masks, etc.), and have their temperature checked they are ready to board.  Once on board, they will have a daily temperature check (usually afternoon or evening per the report) and a symptoms check.  Only if the guest shows symptoms will the medical center become involved.

 

The recent guidelines issued by CLIA today state that the cruiselines will test every passenger. 

[keyboardjunkie]

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The recent guidelines issued by CLIA today state that the cruiselines will test every passenger. 

 

 

Here is what CLIA posted today:

 

"This morning, CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead announced at Seatrade Cruise Virtual that the CLIA Global Board of Directors has voted to approve 100% testing of passengers and crew prior to embarkation, with a requirement for a negative test, as a core element of initial resumption globally.

 

This mandatory measure for all CLIA ocean-going cruise lines is effective immediately for the initial restart of passenger service globally and is applicable to vessels capable of carrying 250 or more passengers."

 

The CLIA announcement does not state that cruise lines will test every passenger.  It states that 100% of passenger testing will be completed prior to embarkation. Combined with the Healthy Sail Report, mandating that guests have a test (negative) completed 5 days to 24 hours prior to boarding, the CLIA requirement is met.

While it would be great if cruise lines would test guests at the port before embarkation, at this point in testing, I do not believe that is realistic.

 

[ace2542]

8 hours ago, keyboardjunkie said:

 

 

Here is what CLIA posted today:

 

"This morning, CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead announced at Seatrade Cruise Virtual that the CLIA Global Board of Directors has voted to approve 100% testing of passengers and crew prior to embarkation, with a requirement for a negative test, as a core element of initial resumption globally.

 

 

 

This mandatory measure for all CLIA ocean-going cruise lines is effective immediately for the initial restart of passenger service globally and is applicable to vessels capable of carrying 250 or more passengers."

 

 

The CLIA announcement does not state that cruise lines will test every passenger.  It states that 100% of passenger testing will be completed prior to embarkation. Combined with the Healthy Sail Report, mandating that guests have a test (negative) completed 5 days to 24 hours prior to boarding, the CLIA requirement is met.

While it would be great if cruise lines would test guests at the port before embarkation, at this point in testing, I do not believe that is realistic.

 

I am going on the Anthem Nov 21st 2021 from NJ. As part of 26 night 3 ship package. 

 

How will this work for me. I will be transferring from the QM2 doing a 7 night westbound crossing. I don't have a smartphone. The part of the UK we live in has very poor cell phone reception and my internet connection is a router and a cable into the back of the computer. So I can't download any apps or get any digital test results?

Edited October 7, 2020 by ace2542

[A&L_Ont]

17 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

I am going on the Anthem Nov 21st 2021 from NJ. As part of 26 night 3 ship package. 

 

How will this work for me. I will be transferring from the QM2 doing a 7 night westbound crossing. I don't have a smartphone. The part of the UK we live in has very poor cell phone reception and my internet connection is a router and a cable into the back of the computer. So I can't download any apps or get any digital test results?

You better be hoping that testing won’t be needed by then, as well as restrictions for foreigners.

Edited October 7, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[SargassoPirate]

If the US population is around 330 million and we have 7.49 million cases of Covid19 as of yesterday, 322.51 million Americans have not tested positive for the virus and are thus not a "case". Further, if we have suffered 210K deaths as of yesterday, 329,790,000 people in the US have not died from the virus.

[ace2542]

23 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

You better be hoping that testing won’t be needed by then, as well as restrictions for foreigners.

The vaccine(s) will likely be widely available by then.  Recent article in the daily telegraph is speaking of a so called "digital health passport" which you will upload covid test result and eventually vaccine information to. I won't be able to do that. A lot won't be able to you know.

Edited October 7, 2020 by ace2542

[ace2542]

14 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

If the US population is around 330 million and we have 7.49 million cases of Covid19 as of yesterday, 322.51 million Americans have not tested positive for the virus and are thus not a "case". Further, if we have suffered 210K deaths as of yesterday, 329,790,000 people in the US have not died from the virus.

how many million have not been tested?. In UK around 1 in 112 people have had this so far. Though my maths might be incorrect. 

[A&L_Ont]

20 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

The vaccine(s) will likely be widely available by then.  Recent article in the daily telegraph is speaking of a so called "digital health passport" which you will upload covid test result and eventually vaccine information to. I won't be able to do that.

Will that digital health passport in the UK work in the US?

 

You might just have to pay for a CV19 PCR test to be administered to you at your cost will crossing the Atlantic to have it 5 to 1 day prior to boarding your next cruise and have the paperwork in hand if they are still required. That is if the ship will administer one for your next cruise.
 

They might only do nose swaps for those that physically need it on board the crossing. 

Edited October 7, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[ace2542]

5 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Will that digital health passport in the UK work in the US?

 

You might just have to pay for a CV19 PCR test to be administered to you at your cost will crossing the Atlantic to have it 5 to 1 day prior to boarding your next cruise and have the paperwork in hand if they are still required. That is if the ship will administer one for your next cruise.
 

They might only do nose swaps for those that physically need it on board the crossing. 

It apparently has the U.S full support. Though what about European GDPR in all this. 

 

I am sure for money Cunard will do the test though the vaccine will probably well up and running by November and you will need the vaccine to board that is almost certain. People like us will just have to take a paper copy of the vaccine cert. A lot of older people have the doro phone the phone with the big buttons. My father does.

[Charles4515]

The vaccine(s) will likely be widely available by then.  Recent article in the daily telegraph is speaking of a so called "digital health passport" which you will upload covid test result and eventually vaccine information to. I won't be able to do that. A lot won't be able to you know.

Maybe you better get a phone or a tablet. You don’t need cell, only WiFi. It is not that you can’t do it. You have the choice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Charles4515]

It apparently has the U.S full support. Though what about European GDPR in all this.   

I am sure for money Cunard will do the test though the vaccine will probably well up and running by November and you will need the vaccine to board that is almost certain. People like us will just have to take a paper copy of the vaccine cert. A lot of older people have the doro phone the phone with the big buttons. My father does.

 

 

Anyone can use a tablet like an iPad or other brand of tablet. And they are not expensive. You obviously have internet and some connected device. There is internet on ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Mapleleafforever]

On 10/5/2020 at 11:12 PM, the more ports the better said:

This is absolutely false information.  I am in the Pfizer study in Orlando.  Our vaccine study phase 3 with 45,600 people, is well documented as is Moderna, phase 3, plus J&J, just completed phase 2, all near 100% effective at producing antibodies well above what is required to ward off COVID.  It produces viral loads similar to Shingrex or small pox, nothing like the flu which is comparing apples to broccoli.  Covid is a stable virus with a small number of variants of similar structure, all can easily be covered by a vaccine.  The flu has thousands of strains.

 

I received the vaccine and the booster.  I have had my antibodies tested several times and will again this week.  I believe I had the vaccine as several hours after the injection and the booster, I began to develop “tetanus shot arm.”  Very sore for a few days.  I also felt under the weather the next day.  Half of our group had the same symptoms, the other half had no symptoms.  We were told and it was stated in our informed consent forms that the placebo is simple saline and nothing would be added to mimic side effects of the vaccine.
 

Honestly, I have been vilified for participating in this study and reporting the positive results.  I don’t care if anyone is unhappy with my first hand, in the study, experience and the excellent results that have been published.  There are some people who just love the drama and negativity of all that is COVID.  I do, however, take exception to the spread of completely false statistics.

Will they notify you upon trial completion whether you got the actual vaccine or the placebo? 

[MommaBear55]

On 10/5/2020 at 11:12 PM, the more ports the better said:

This is absolutely false information.  I am in the Pfizer study in Orlando.  Our vaccine study phase 3 with 45,600 people, is well documented as is Moderna, phase 3, plus J&J, just completed phase 2, all near 100% effective at producing antibodies well above what is required to ward off COVID.  It produces viral loads similar to Shingrex or small pox, nothing like the flu which is comparing apples to broccoli.  Covid is a stable virus with a small number of variants of similar structure, all can easily be covered by a vaccine.  The flu has thousands of strains.

 

I received the vaccine and the booster.  I have had my antibodies tested several times and will again this week.  I believe I had the vaccine as several hours after the injection and the booster, I began to develop “tetanus shot arm.”  Very sore for a few days.  I also felt under the weather the next day.  Half of our group had the same symptoms, the other half had no symptoms.  We were told and it was stated in our informed consent forms that the placebo is simple saline and nothing would be added to mimic side effects of the vaccine.
 

Honestly, I have been vilified for participating in this study and reporting the positive results.  I don’t care if anyone is unhappy with my first hand, in the study, experience and the excellent results that have been published.  There are some people who just love the drama and negativity of all that is COVID.  I do, however, take exception to the spread of completely false statistics.

I'm delighted that there are people like you who are willing to put themselves out there for the betterment of us all. I'm also glad that the companies aren't waiting for the completion of testing before making millions of doses. 

[Mapleleafforever]

Testing will be useless when it comes to cruising. Steven Miller tested positive on his fifth day of isolation after testing negative the previous 4. I'm now convinced no cruises until next summer. The only way I get convinced otherwise is when I see ships leaving port with paying passengers on it. 

[the more ports the better]

1 hour ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Will they notify you upon trial completion whether you got the actual vaccine or the placebo? 

Yes, upon approval by the FDA, all participants that received the placebo had to agree to immediately receive the vaccine.  This way there is no risk of participants seeking out vaccines from other companies and continuing with the study as we are followed for two years.

[Mapleleafforever]

4 minutes ago, the more ports the better said:

Yes, upon approval by the FDA, all participants that received the placebo had to agree to immediately receive the vaccine.  This way there is no risk of participants seeking out vaccines from other companies and continuing with the study as we are followed for two years.

Ah, that's good. I wish you luck and thank-you for doing that for us all. 

[Biker19]

15 minutes ago, Mapleleafforever said:

The only way I get convinced otherwise is when I see ships leaving port with paying passengers on it. 

Sailings on MS2 from Hamburg have been ongoing since late July.