Where Can You Go?
Hooray! You are vaccinated and ready to travel. But Where Can You Go?
After a year of isolation and oppressively endless Zoom sessions, many of the newly vaxxed feel the same way. But it’s not a get-out-of-jail-card quite yet. Most of the world isn’t ready to roll back testing and quarantine rules for travelers just yet. We’re still in a pandemic, after all, and only a small percentage of the world’s population has gotten the jab.
Many countries—including most of Western Europe—still aren’t open to U.S. tourists. Cases are rising in some areas; most of Italy, for example, just retreated into lockdown after a variant reared its head. You’ll still need to practice social distancing and wear masks for the foreseeable future, especially when you are in public with people you don’t know.
Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recently eased restrictions on small gatherings, continues to counsel against travel, even for the vaccinated.
Only a few countries are letting U.S. visitors bypass testing and quarantine rules if they have been vaccinated; among them are Belize, Iceland, the Seychelles, Georgia and Estonia.
Vaccine Passport
The race is on to come up with a standardized, all-purpose mobile app that will let you summon your health data, from vaccinations to tests, in one tap. “It’s the proverbial Wild West out there,” said Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research. None of the existing options “is better than the other.”
Each essentially works the same way—giving you proof of immunity in digital form that obviates the need to show a paper document. But some people might prefer an analog version to having multiple health apps on their smartphones. Others may be reluctant to share health data online. Until such concerns are resolved, it might be wise to laminate that CDC card you get when leaving the vax site so it won’t disintegrate in your wallet.
What About Kids?
There is no approved vaccine for kids under the age of 16 so if you are traveling as a family expect mandatory quarantines.
Of course, mandatory quarantines mean you won’t travel.
Travel Isn’t Easy
You may be sick of being homebound but travel outside the US still isn’t easy. Even in the US, the CDC advises against travel, vaccinated or not.
Mish
Next week I have to fly from Tokyo to New York. We have to arrive at the airport 9 hours before takeoff to get tested. Morning flights are not possible. The flight is nearly empty so far. I’ll get the vaccine when I arrive home but I would prefer a shot of the live virus. I would risk it in order to get REAL immunity.
I had the actual virus which is better than any vaccine.
I was told I can still Covid again in a few months when the anti-bodies wear off just like I can for a normal cold/flu.
The idea of real immunity is laughable unless you mean short term immunity. You’ll need constant shots to stay immune. They just haven’t told anyone yet because they don’t have enough for round 1 yet.
Also, TPTB recognize that they need to reopen the countries economies. They can’t do that w/o an excuse to cover the fact that they over-reacted to Covid, forcing healthy people into quarantine while erroneously shutting down most schools & businesses.
The cover is the vaccine. They can’t admit it doesn’t bestow immunity or too many people will not give up the fear they became indoctrinated with over the past year.
As always, actions have consequences.
They don’t know how to handle it, the rest is improvisation that suits any agenda. My initial reaction was to close borders before the virus could become established, until how potent it was was understood. The lock downs would have been for those most susceptible, over 60 say, and not completely obligatory – you provide recompense where needed is all.
I would still choose that if similar epidemic started. Those that are/would be badly affected by the virus have all my sympathy and no one is pretending it is completely innocuous, but lockdowns and the current state of circumstance are not innocuous either, responsibility would be to the individual to adapt.
So you imagine that route, with the world still buzzing to a degree, older people segregated, younger people watching some amongst them getting taken out, and you know that people would be calling for blood. As is, WHO and world synchronisation plus media has most people mesmerised, it has people on the defensive, it has people dependent on its sources of authority because they might not have work afterwards, because their income now depends on what tptb decide. It is a huge sleight of hand, where even the most focused accusation on China or any potential author of the pandemic will always be met with a form of plausible deniability, one which people will be comfortable accepting because “the otherwise” signifies the incompetence and complicity of their own nations, and ultimately themselves.
There are many in the world, and particularly congregated in positions of power, who would not hesitate at anything to maintain an edge, as long as they feel they can be washed of any unwanted direct responsibility. It will take years for some kind of independent public consensus to form on what has just occurred, it will be confused and challengeable , and even if not then by that time most will not be interested in trying to straighten any wrongdoing, if those who have done wrong can even be found anymore.
The world would be a far BETTER place if everybody stayed were he or she belongs : at home in your fckn own country or region , the times of greener grass at the other side of the fence are over, the world is ONE fckn McDonald, Amazon or whatever mess all over the place so what s the point of going anywhere, we ve come too far , pandemics are the consequence of our insane globalised behaviour … Don t be deluded , fckn jabs are no solution, infinite tampering with nature will have a price, this is just the beginning
If you think Europe is resistant to visitors try Asia. It is even more closed if that’s possible. Many countries in Latin America are open so if you want to travel that’s the place.
Some countries would probably not let you back in after visiting, cage you for a few weeks on return. I think travellers still remember when the airlines closed down and not even governments seemed able to repatriate their citizens.
Vaccine passports are moot since viruses mutate faster than vaccines can be developed. There are also new viruses that have no vaccine, just like the Wuhan flu.
There was a story on the BBC America yesterday about how shopkeepers in Spain are hoping for vaccine passports, as they see this as some sort of panacea that will bring back the tourists.
I still don’t understand the logic as vaccinations only serve to reduce the possibility that you might get seriously sick and have to go to the hospital. Covid vaccines don’t provide “immunity”, any more than say, flu vaccines do.
You can still get Covid and may be able to transmit it to others, even if you don’t get seriously sick, perhaps you will be one of those who might turn into one of the long-haulers with problems that extend for months or longer?
I guess if Spain just opened everything up without some measure or other people would wonder if it should have been closed down in the first place. So why not just increase the bureaucracy, sign a few friendly contracts, and keep tabs on the population into the bargain ? It’s about what they are seen to be doing, people’s jobs depend on it.
Cuanto se le paga a un autonomo en Espana que por el Covid tiene que cerrar su negocio ? NADA segun me cuenta mi hijo, que vive en Valencia …
…claro, nada. Ya tienen una base de soporte de ingreso mínimo, creo alrededor de los 400 eu. También facilitan EREs y imponen aceptacíon de demora de alguna deuda. Todo eso ni es mas que parches, y con un ingresso soporte poco se hace sea por un inividuo ni por la economía. Peor es que no se han recuperado del gfc, la deuda pública salto de 60 a 100 % entonces, y ahora mucho más, y la economía jodida, y todo ya soportado por medidas temporarias. Pero los puestos de trabajo de que estuvo hablando eran los del sector publico, no el privado.
According to the PM’s Covid briefing today there’s also evidence building that suggests you’re less likely to catch Covid once you’ve been vaccinated.
Hawaii is open with a negative test. Where else do you need to go?
Hawaii or Iceland? That’s a tough one.
Both have volcanoes!
So how is crypto-seismology going these days ?
Both have beaches too!
I skied today. I wouldn’t say I’d consider the whole social distancing/mask thing to be very effective as I saw it practiced here today.
They are trying, but compliance is mixed, and there were some crowded situations, although most of them were outdoors. Glad I got the shot. Hope it works.
I am jealous! Over here the ski resorts in the Alps are closed to downhill skiing. As an avid skier I miss not being able to ski at my favorite spot which is Chamonix Valley. It’s got a range of good places and an incredible vertical drop of 7,000 feet. Yesterday the government announced to us in the Paris region that we will be in heavy lockdown for the next four weeks. Consequently lots of people are fleeing Paris again. To go outside you need a paper with a time limit and can’t father than 10 km.
We are up at Steamboat CO, where I first leaned to ski about 40 years ago. It’s a fine mountain, but I don’t love it as much as our usual ski destination, which is Alta, Utah.
Alta is about the last of the old school ski towns in America, and it has a great history. I had always hoped I’d ski the Alps, but so far its still on my bucket list.
Sorry to hear that COVID has gotten so bad where you are.
With the exception of the U.K. Europe is not doing wel in vaccinations largely behind Israel, U.K. and the U.S.A. I suspect domestic travel will come first
Europe is not even open to European visitors. Over here it is still closed. There is an exception. UK tourists are being welcomed in Greece and Spain now because they are considered safe. I would expect the same for US vaccinated tourists too in selected countries. The EU did a less-than-bang-up job on this one. The political fallout is going to be pretty dramatic.
It’s still illegal for UK residents to travel abroad at the moment.
Greece, Cyprus and Portugal and some others are taking reservations for Spring as soon as the UK lifts the ban. They are very eager to get the tourists back as is all of Europe in general.
I imagine they’ll get booked up quite quickly.
Well do you really want to go somewhere when things you want to do maybe closed anyway.
Everything is closed here in France and has been for months. There is nothing to do except the occasional illegal rave party and that is not in my age group.
Dual citizenship really comes in handy sometimes
The price of sharing a country with selfish morons.
Yup, nothing worse that scared people demanding others vaccinate and quarantine 😉
About 600,000 are dead and millions have long term complications.
In the 1918 Influenza Pandemic 75 million died and the world still turned.
The complex globalization of trade developed in the last 100 years presents a significant hurdle in getting things back to normal. Ask a hospitality expert when room rates and occupancy will get back to “The Before Times” levels. 2023 at best, and you can see their eyebrows sweat when they make that modest claim.
I’m sure you wouldn’t compare the internet today with the internet 100 years ago. That’s what you just did with the global economy.
I am not sure what you are getting at. When it comes to pandemics it’s not global trade that is the determining factor but the travel of people between countries. In 1918 travel between countries and continents was slower but not slow enough to be a factor in limiting spread. The rebound after the pandemic was rapid as it will be this time too. Once the fear abates past behaviors return because people like them. I am sure that hospitality experts are in a bad way because this has never happened to them before so I can understand their pessimism. I am comparing pandemics to pandemics and the characteristics of pandemics do not change even if the globe is more connected today. In the end the pandemic subsides and people get back to their lives. Look back in history at all the pandemics 100 times worse than this one. People went back to work, went back to taking vacations and went back to traveling for work and fun. There are no exceptions.
IF any of the covid death numbers are near correct, the deaths worldwide are about 2.7 million, that’s IF you believe China had less deaths than Serbia.
Tough on them. Genetic weaklings get weeded out. Natures rules.
Why do we label people or groups?
We use labels is because there’s so much information in the world that we can’t process every piece of it individually. So we group things together and we put labels on them. We have to do this to keep from being overwhelmed and maintain our sanity. Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to quickly label them so that we don’t have to expend any additional attention trying to understand them in more detail.