Mixed Vaccines

[tert333]

58 minutes ago, abby1257 said:

I actually did not know about the flying into the US with mixed vaccines.  Am I correct in thinking up until November 1st, Canadian's could fly into the US with mixed Azstrzeneca and either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines....but after November 1st we won't....Anybody????

 

It is not definite that the new rules will be coming in on November 1.   When the announcement was made, they said early November.  Furthermore, it has not been stated yet, which vaccination will be accepted.   The UK has recently changed and have announced they are accepting mixed AZ/mRNA vaccines.  We will have to see what the US does.

 

However, before the new rules are put in place, Canadians do not need to be vaccinated to fly to the US.  You may want to review the rules around testing though.

 

 

[abby1257]

27 minutes ago, tert333 said:

It is not definite that the new rules will be coming in on November 1.   When the announcement was made, they said early November.  Furthermore, it has not been stated yet, which vaccination will be accepted.   The UK has recently changed and have announced they are accepting mixed AZ/mRNA vaccines.  We will have to see what the US does.

 

However, before the new rules are put in place, Canadians do not need to be vaccinated to fly to the US.  You may want to review the rules around testing though.

 

 

Thanks for your reply.  Our cruise is at the end of March and beginning of May/22....I am really just hoping they will accept AZ mixed with MRNA.....It's just sad to think that they told us Canadians that the "best" vaccine to get is the first one offered.....so a few people in my family got the AZ....so I am hoping things change.....

 

[broberts]

1 hour ago, abby1257 said:

I actually did not know about the flying into the US with mixed vaccines.  Am I correct in thinking up until November 1st, Canadian's could fly into the US with mixed Azstrzeneca and either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines....but after November 1st we won't....Anybody????

 

 

My understanding is that until Nov 1st vaccinations are not required to enter the US. As of Nov 1 vaccinations will be required. At the present time mixed vaccine vaccinations that include AZ are not considered vaccinations by the US or WHO. That may change before November.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

if the USA will not allow mixed vaccines, I am ok with that , rather not go to the USA anyway 

I will stick to cruising the the rest of the world 

I did like my Suez Canal cruise 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, abby1257 said:

I actually did not know about the flying into the US with mixed vaccines.  Am I correct in thinking up until November 1st, Canadian's could fly into the US with mixed Azstrzeneca and either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines....but after November 1st we won't....Anybody????

 

No one knows for sure, but that is a possibility. (I also don’t think an actual date was set; I believe that they announced “early in November “ but I don’t remember exactly.)

[bcwife76]

A lot of us are now in a holding pattern until they announce more. We have a trip to Disneyland booked for mid November, air and hotel (both refundable, well air is with WJ travel bank so it will go back there....again....sigh). I was going to pull the trigger on buying park tickets last week, then the US made this announcement so we've done nothing. This could also affect our spring break plans for March 2022. I just hate this feeling of being in limbo, but I suppose after 18+ months of this pandemic, that's all we have all felt really.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, abby1257 said:

Thanks for your reply.  Our cruise is at the end of March and beginning of May/22....I am really just hoping they will accept AZ mixed with MRNA.....It's just sad to think that they told us Canadians that the "best" vaccine to get is the first one offered.....so a few people in my family got the AZ....so I am hoping things change.....

 

Sorry, I don't agree. From a medical perspective - decreasing cases, freeing up hospital beds and saving lives - the best vaccine was most definitely the first one offered. Canada has done significantly better than most countries by choosing this approach, and the medical experts who made this decision are to be congratulated. To be blunt, it's far better to be alive and inconvenienced in our desire to cruise than to be dead from COVID.

[gubby]

I absolutely agree with you Fouremco. Although each one of us gets frustrated with changing rules and protocols, and what sèems to be a slow pace to modify laws, as a country, we are in a far better place than most other countries. If there was just some way to convince the anti-vaxxers to join the club, perhaps we could reach herd Immunity and leave much of this behind. Hopefully while we still have a functioning hospital system.

[abby1257]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Sorry, I don't agree. From a medical perspective - decreasing cases, freeing up hospital beds and saving lives - the best vaccine was most definitely the first one offered. Canada has done significantly better than most countries by choosing this approach, and the medical experts who made this decision are to be congratulated. To be blunt, it's far better to be alive and inconvenienced in our desire to cruise than to be dead from COVID.

 

[abby1257]

Sorry…my reply came across wrong..most definitely anyone who took Az did the right thing..just sad that it isn’t recognized the same…as the other vaccines….I’m so proud of my fellow Canadians who have stepped up and gotten vaccinated….we are soooo far ahead of other countries..and I am blessed that I honestly don’t personally know anyone who has had COVID…way to go Canada!

Edited September 29, 2021 by abby1257

[Fouremco]

35 minutes ago, abby1257 said:

Sorry…my reply came across wrong..most definitely anyone who took Az did the right thing..just sad that it isn’t recognized the same…as the other vaccines….I’m so proud of my fellow Canadians who have stepped up and gotten vaccinated….we are soooo far ahead of other countries..and I am blessed that I honestly don’t personally know anyone who has had COVID…way to go Canada!

I'm very glad to read this, as your earlier comment seemed so out of character. I guess misunderstanding will happen from time to time, and it's good to get them straightened out. Thank you for doing so.  

[tert333]

12 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I'm very glad to read this, as your earlier comment seemed so out of character. I guess misunderstanding will happen from time to time, and it's good to get them straightened out. Thank you for doing so.  

I agree with many aspects of the discussion.  Canada has done a great job of getting vaccines into the country, dealing in a situation where they are fighting for limited resources against countries much larger than us and having all of the manufacturing capability.   The procurement group looked at all options including borrowing vaccines from the US and getting vaccines from India before they locked down.

 

I do have an issue with the decision around AZ and recommending those people who had a first dose to go to an mRNA vaccine.  This was not thought out.   At the time they recommended to people to get a dose of mRNA, there was still plenty of AZ available.  My wife and I went in the same day and we were offered either vaccine.  I went with Pfizer as it was what NACI was recommending.  

 

However, looking back, there were limited studies on mixing vaccines.  Even the World Health Organization did not(and continues) recommend mixing AZ and mRNA.   While some countries were offering mixed vaccines, others such as the UK were not(and still don't).

 

It can be argued that I was given the choice and it was my decision, which is true.   However, I do not profess to be an expert in the medical field and rely on the experts, which I still believe was the wrong decision for two reasons; 1/ The limited studies performed on mixing and 2/  the impact of mixing vaccines on acceptance into other countries.   If there was no AZ available as a second dose, then it would have been a different issue.

 

I know there is an argument of the side effects of clotting.  However, it is rare.

 

 

[Princess Fi]

2 minutes ago, tert333 said:

I agree with many aspects of the discussion.  Canada has done a great job of getting vaccines into the country, dealing in a situation where they are fighting for limited resources against countries much larger than us and having all of the manufacturing capability.   The procurement group looked at all options including borrowing vaccines from the US and getting vaccines from India before they locked down.

 

I do have an issue with the decision around AZ and recommending those people who had a first dose to go to an mRNA vaccine.  This was not thought out.   At the time they recommended to people to get a dose of mRNA, there was still plenty of AZ available.  My wife and I went in the same day and we were offered either vaccine.  I went with Pfizer as it was what NACI was recommending.  

 

However, looking back, there were limited studies on mixing vaccines.  Even the World Health Organization did not(and continues) recommend mixing AZ and mRNA.   While some countries were offering mixed vaccines, others such as the UK were not(and still don't).

 

It can be argued that I was given the choice and it was my decision, which is true.   However, I do not profess to be an expert in the medical field and rely on the experts, which I still believe was the wrong decision for two reasons; 1/ The limited studies performed on mixing and 2/  the impact of mixing vaccines on acceptance into other countries.   If there was no AZ available as a second dose, then it would have been a different issue.

 

I know there is an argument of the side effects of clotting.  However, it is rare.

 

 

I am fully vaccinated with AZ. I was on the hunt for my second dose to be AZ as I anticipated this would be an issue for travel due to the limited studies. My first dose was given at SDM in the burbs of the GTA. They did not get doses of AZ for people to get a second dose. I had to search locations where the initial pilot was taking place. Found a clinic in Toronto for my second dose. I don’t doubt AZ mixed with mRNA has a robust immune response but Canada was an outlier in this. It is now up to Canada to convince other countries this is a valid vaccine. People that stepped up and got vaccinated to help all of Canada know they did the right thing but can’t help but feel second class to those that had the benefit of getting two doses of the same vaccine. This will be sorted in time but for some it feels to be taking a long time. 

[Fouremco]

I think that to a large extent, the decision faced by many Canadians was influenced by the availability of specific vaccines in their region. In the case of my DW and I, we both received Moderna for our first shot (only one available in Ottawa at the time) and our preference was for the same with our second shot. When they shortened the gap and allowed earlier second shots, Moderna was simply not available in the Ottawa area, or in the broader Eastern Ontario region.

 

We were nevertheless able to book appointments with SDM, but only for Pfizer, something we were less happy about but understood that mixed mRNA vaccinations were effective. As it turned out, the day before our SDM appointment, a weekly clinic in a town outside Ottawa received a shipment of Moderna and we were able to book an appoint there for the following weekend. We viewed the short wait and the drive well worthwhile to secure a second dose of Moderna, but had that shipment arrived a couple of days later, we would have taken the Moderna - Pfizer mix and would have been very thankful for being fully vaccinated.

[hellopuppies]

Checked Royal Caribbean website for updated protocols, the 42 days disappeared and mixed vaccines AZ+Pfizer/Moderna is also accepted. We are good to go....yay😉

Edited September 29, 2021 by hellopuppies

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We had Moderna for our first shot in April , it was 3 weeks after we book and the location was a hour away , but that was the closest and soonest appointment we could get 

our second shot in June , on the date it opened up to our age group there was a pop clinic 10 km away , we stood in line for 3 hours , and they were using Pfizer so we got it , and no regrets

[CKCruising]

44 minutes ago, hellopuppies said:

Checked Royal Caribbean website for updated protocols, the 42 days disappeared and mixed vaccines AZ+Pfizer/Moderna is also accepted. We are good to go....yay😉

This is what I see:

"Guests whose two-shot regimen consists of 1 mRNA dose (Pfizer or Moderna) with 1 AstraZeneca dose will not be considered vaccinated. We continue to encourage the CDC and other U.S. government officials to re-evaluate this policy."

For US departures.  Are you seeing something differrent?

[hellopuppies]

2 hours ago, hellopuppies said:

Checked Royal Caribbean website for updated protocols, the 42 days disappeared and mixed vaccines AZ+Pfizer/Moderna is also accepted. We are good to go....yay😉

This is from the Royal Caribbean FAQ:

For Cruises Departing from Ports Outside of the U.S. 

For cruises departing from ports outside of the U.S., we will accept guests who are vaccinated with a mixed regimen consisting of 2 shots of the following manufacturer combinations: Pfizer and Moderna, or AstraZeneca with either Pfizer or Moderna. The doses must be separated by at least 28 days for mixes of Pfizer and Moderna, and separated by at least 4 weeks and not more than 12 weeks for combinations of AstraZeneca with Pfizer or Moderna.

Mixed vaccines may not be accepted at all ports of call. Guests who are vaccinated with a mixed series may not be allowed to go ashore at these ports, or may need to undergo additional testing if they wish to go ashore.

 

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, hellopuppies said:

Checked Royal Caribbean website for updated protocols, the 42 days disappeared and mixed vaccines AZ+Pfizer/Moderna is also accepted. We are good to go....yay😉

 

1 hour ago, CKCruising said:

This is what I see:

"Guests whose two-shot regimen consists of 1 mRNA dose (Pfizer or Moderna) with 1 AstraZeneca dose will not be considered vaccinated. We continue to encourage the CDC and other U.S. government officials to re-evaluate this policy."

For US departures.  Are you seeing something differrent?

You are both right, depending on where the cruise starts. For US departures, it isn't accepted, but elsewhere it is:

 

For Cruises Departing from Ports Outside of the U.S. 

For cruises departing from ports outside of the U.S., we will accept guests who are vaccinated with a mixed regimen consisting of 2 shots of the following manufacturer combinations: Pfizer and Moderna, or AstraZeneca with either Pfizer or Moderna. The doses must be separated by at least 28 days for mixes of Pfizer and Moderna, and separated by at least 4 weeks and not more than 12 weeks for combinations of AstraZeneca with Pfizer or Moderna.

[netpj]

A regime of Covishield/AstraZeneca is also causing issues (separate from AstraZeneca/MRNA).  Some cruise lines and countries are not accepting Covishield.  In the UK (which mainly used AZ) boosters for the over 50s will be either Pfizer or Moderna.  Certainly what is acceptable or not varies from country to country as well as who should receive boosters.  Some sort of uniformity on these issues would help.  Of course overriding this is the fact that there are parts of the world which remain unvaccinated.

[tert333]

Here is a study performed in BC, comparing two mRNA vaccines, mixed AZ/mRNA and two AZ.

 

The mixed AZ/mRNA showed similar results to the two mRNA vaccines and better than the two AZ vaccines.  The sample size was over a quarter million people.  I would assume this has been sent to the CDC for review... 🙂

 

https://vancouversun.com/news/mixing-covid-vaccines-offer-high-level-of-protection-bccdc-data

 

Results like this should help our mixed vaccine cause.  However, time will tell.

[scottbee]

6 hours ago, netpj said:

A regime of Covishield/AstraZeneca is also causing issues (separate from AstraZeneca/MRNA).  Some cruise lines and countries are not accepting Covishield.  In the UK (which mainly used AZ) boosters for the over 50s will be either Pfizer or Moderna.  Certainly what is acceptable or not varies from country to country as well as who should receive boosters.  Some sort of uniformity on these issues would help.  Of course overriding this is the fact that there are parts of the world which remain unvaccinated.

 

At this point in time I have documentation from Celebrity that for US departures they consider AZD1222 vaccines from SII(Covishield) as identical to OxfordAstraZeneca(Vaxzevria); and someone with one of each would be considered fully vaccinated.  I would expect other RCL owned cruise lines to be the same.

 

[gnome12]

Separate from what the cruise line requires is what individual countries will accept. Not all countries accept Covishield, so make sure that any country you want to visit does accept it. (I know there is a website with a list of countries that do, but I can’t search for it right now.)

[latebuyer]

For those in BC i saw bonnie henry on tv at dinner and she said she would consider giving a third dose for travel. She is waiting to see what the US does as she doesn’t want shots given unecessarily. Sorry i could not find an article on this.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

49 minutes ago, christinand said:

For those in BC i saw bonnie henry on tv at dinner and she said she would consider giving a third dose for travel. She is waiting to see what the US does as she doesn’t want shots given unecessarily. Sorry i could not find an article on this.

That is not what this story indicates 

https://globalnews.ca/news/8228148/no-third-covid-19-shot-bc-residents-mixed-doses-top-doctor/