Airlines and White House Meeting today. X Alaska decision too.

[K.T.B.]

4 hours ago, lyndarra said:

Agree. Should the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million, be called the Kansas Flu?

 

I just learned something new!  I recall reading that it was from the UK (not Spain).  I just checked and saw the first cases were indeed from Kansas a month before there were known cases in the UK and Germany.  Wow.

[baldilocks]

We live in Georgia, USA. The state is mostly open to commerce...including dining out with social distancing. The state government is fairly reasonable with the regulations so the citizens (although a bit weary of masks, etc.) are willing to follow the regulations we have in effect. Georgians feel they can use common sense in protecting themselves unlike NY, NJ and CA.  

 

We have not killed our businesses. We can at least talk and wave to out neighbors without feeling the mask police will arrest us. We pity the poor NYC people. The population density on Manhattan is 69,000 people per square mile. Our county has about the same population as a square mile of Manhattan, but it is spread out over 322 square miles. That is one reason people are moving out of NYC.

[BEAV]

Starting week 4 of a 5 week Hawaiian getaway. Took my Hawai’i-required Covid test no more than 72 hours before arrival on January 24 to avoid the need to quarantine for 10 days. Filled out their travel form on line with address where I’d be staying (have rented a condo) with contact info, uploaded a QR code with my negative test result and RAN to the airport. Closest person to me was sitting 4 rows forward on the flight over.

 

Every restaurant you go into has you fill out a state-required tracing form with your contact info kept on file for 14 days. Nobody grumbles. Once you’ve done that, order your mai tai and pupuus and enjoy vacationing in the beautiful islands of Aloha. Masks required everywhere with 100% compliance. Nobody grumbles about rights being violated. Aloha spirit prevails. Just an island full of happy people working and going through a few, simple steps to keep one another safe. Nobody grumbles. Kinda like team spirit. Remember that from High School? 

 

Any wonder why Hawai’i has the lowest Covid positivity rate in the US?

 

NCL Pride of America floating around just off the coast in the event I need to satisfy my fix to see a cruise ship! 

 

Did I mention nobody grumbles? 

 

ALOHA! 

[zitsky]

Is NCL P of A on a cruise?  Or do you mean it was docked?

[Ashland]

I'm just waiting for Celebrity to cancel our July 2021 British Isles cruise...Hoping they don't wait until after final is due May 1st....It's been almost impossible for us here in SoCal to get the vaccine..only 3% of our population has received it. Please cancel Celebrity this cruise isn't going to happen !!!

[ORV]

8 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I'm just waiting for Celebrity to cancel our July 2021 British Isles cruise...Hoping they don't wait until after final is due May 1st....It's been almost impossible for us here in SoCal to get the vaccine..only 3% of our population has received it. Please cancel Celebrity this cruise isn't going to happen !!!

Where do you get your information? Here let me help you, this is current. California is actually in the upper group of states for percentage of population vaccinated. 

 

https://time.com/collection/coronavirus-vaccines-updates/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_campaign=newsletter+health-thursday+default+ac&utm_content=+++20210107+++body&et_rid=92272582

 

California has administered 4,493,220 first doses (11.4% of the population), accounting for 82.6% of total first doses shipped

[BEAV]

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

Is NCL P of A on a cruise?  Or do you mean it was docked?

 

No, it’s just floating around anchored off the coast within sight from my condo. It came into port and docked for 10 days, then back out to sea again. The cruise terminal is being used as a vaccination site. 

[BEAV]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

....It's been almost impossible for us here in SoCal to get the vaccine..only 3% of our population has received it.

 

My cousin and hubby (ages 67 and 70) in Orange County had their first shot Jan 15 and second Feb 12. They were vaccinated at Disneyland. 

My cousin followed NextDoor and found a wealth of info from others that paved the way to scheduling their vaccinations. If you haven’t already, try the site vaccinateca.com. Enter your zip code and see the list of vaccination sites available in your area. And best of luck to you. 

[phoenix_dream]

18 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

The best thing is for everyone to stay at home and don't ever leave.  But is that realistic?

Exactly.  I am not frivolous by any means, and have followed all the rules my state has enacted, from stay at home, to social distancing, to mask wearing, etc.  I also do not consider myself selfish, nor do those who know me.  But it just seems to me that many of these rules are more political posturing than actually in place to save lives.  In my area, I can eat in a restaurant, go to the movies, or work out in a gym (following the protocols in place).  But for some reason even though soon to be fully vaccinated, I am not supposed to do that in a neighboring state with similar infection rates, just because that constitutes "travel".   Also in that vein, they often tend to be inconsistent based on a particular leader's whim.    In the suburbs here, children are back in school, with restrictions of course.  But in the city (similar Covid statistics) there is still remote learning.   Just an example that doing things "based on the science" is still very much subject to interpretation and the political winds.  Calling someone selfish because they actually realize this to be the case seems harsh to me.

 

Assuming we do not learn that deadly variants can be transmitted and/or caught even by those vaccinated (which of course changes everything),  I just cannot see any scientific evidence to support the need for a fully vaccinated person not to be able to travel domestically, while following all the local protocols.

[LGW59]

3 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Exactly.  I am not frivolous by any means, and have followed all the rules my state has enacted, from stay at home, to social distancing, to mask wearing, etc.  I also do not consider myself selfish, nor do those who know me.  But it just seems to me that many of these rules are more political posturing than actually in place to save lives.  In my area, I can eat in a restaurant, go to the movies, or work out in a gym (following the protocols in place).  But for some reason even though soon to be fully vaccinated, I am not supposed to do that in a neighboring state with similar infection rates, just because that constitutes "travel".   Also in that vein, they often tend to be inconsistent based on a particular leader's whim.    In the suburbs here, children are back in school, with restrictions of course.  But in the city (similar Covid statistics) there is still remote learning.   Just an example that doing things "based on the science" is still very much subject to interpretation and the political winds.  Calling someone selfish because they actually realize this to be the case seems harsh to me.

 

Assuming we do not learn that deadly variants can be transmitted and/or caught even by those vaccinated (which of course changes everything),  I just cannot see any scientific evidence to support the need for a fully vaccinated person not to be able to travel domestically, while following all the local protocols.

We have been doing this for 11 months, well most have anyway, at this point why can't we just let the vaccine rollout to an even higher percentage of the population, then settle back and see what transpires.  To me, a small price to pay at this point.  It sucks, totally, but IMO, a few more months can make the difference.

[markeb]

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

We have been doing this for 11 months, well most have anyway, at this point why can't we just let the vaccine rollout to an even higher percentage of the population, then settle back and see what transpires.  To me, a small price to pay at this point.  It sucks, totally, but IMO, a few more months can make the difference.

 

There was an article in the Post a few months ago, and I've dug a little into other stories, about the 1918-1921 (it was 3 years; not 1) influenza pandemic. The public basically declared the pandemic over due to what was referred to as "pandemic fatigue" before any government or international organization did. This was decades before the founding of the United Nations, so there was no World Health Organization. But it was immediately post World War I, international air travel didn't exist, and international sea travel was still very complicated. And even domestic travel in the US wasn't simple. The impact of public exhaustion probably wasn't great, but most accounts I've read suggest there was an impact on extending the pandemic.

 

Arguably, we're danger close to making huge headway on the US epidemic. Mixed messaging, fatigue, the desire to return to "normal", etc., could still extend this, even in with a fairly successful vaccine rollout (that everyone wishes were better). I don't know if we're talking mid-summer or early fall, but IF cases continue to drop with vaccination, AND people follow recommendations (including travel restrictions, like them or not), then late this year or early next year, I'm beginning to believe we'll see some sort of normal. 

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

Assuming we do not learn that deadly variants can be transmitted and/or caught even by those vaccinated (which of course changes everything),  I just cannot see any scientific evidence to support the need for a fully vaccinated person not to be able to travel domestically, while following all the local protocols.

The problem is that there is no scientific evidence that people who have been vaccinated CAN'T catch or transmit the variants. As the Pfizer and other trials showed, and as articles such as https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/four-people-oregon-who-received-both-doses-vaccine-test-positive-n1257886 continue to show, there are already cases of vaccinated people subsequently testing positive. Given their higher degree of transmissibility, there is no reason to expect that variants would be excluded.

 

The pandemic is wearing us all down, but as we edge closer to getting control of the situation, this is not the time to ignore the potential problems associated with variants and unrestricted travel.

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, BEAV said:

 

My cousin and hubby (ages 67 and 70) in Orange County had their first shot Jan 15 and second Feb 12. They were vaccinated at Disneyland. 

My cousin followed NextDoor and found a wealth of info from others that paved the way to scheduling their vaccinations. If you haven’t already, try the site vaccinateca.com. Enter your zip code and see the list of vaccination sites available in your area. And best of luck to you. 

Thanks so much...no appts available will keep checking.

[nocl]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Exactly.  I am not frivolous by any means, and have followed all the rules my state has enacted, from stay at home, to social distancing, to mask wearing, etc.  I also do not consider myself selfish, nor do those who know me.  But it just seems to me that many of these rules are more political posturing than actually in place to save lives.  In my area, I can eat in a restaurant, go to the movies, or work out in a gym (following the protocols in place).  But for some reason even though soon to be fully vaccinated, I am not supposed to do that in a neighboring state with similar infection rates, just because that constitutes "travel".   Also in that vein, they often tend to be inconsistent based on a particular leader's whim.    In the suburbs here, children are back in school, with restrictions of course.  But in the city (similar Covid statistics) there is still remote learning.   Just an example that doing things "based on the science" is still very much subject to interpretation and the political winds.  Calling someone selfish because they actually realize this to be the case seems harsh to me.

 

Assuming we do not learn that deadly variants can be transmitted and/or caught even by those vaccinated (which of course changes everything),  I just cannot see any scientific evidence to support the need for a fully vaccinated person not to be able to travel domestically, while following all the local protocols.

The reason to restrict travel is very simple.  The more interactions that take place, the greater the likely hood of spread.  If you are home and go through your routines you will come into contact with X people.  Each week your routine is somewhat similar.  Same grocery stores, same gas stations etc..  If everyone is also staying in their community the number of opportunities for a virus to transfer between areas is reduced.  Odds are that many of the places you routinely visit do not have someone infected. 

 

When you travel every contact is a new one.  The number of new contacts, even if you do the same type things that you do at home, goes up significantly. So when you are home if you encounter 100 people many of them are the same as the previous week, or at least you are meeting them in the same locations as the previous.  When traveling every encounter is a new one, every location is a new one.  

 

There are also the issues that if a variant is present in the area you are traveling to, but not your home area (or the reverse) you as a travel can be the one to introduce a variant into a new area.

[nocl]

4 hours ago, LGW59 said:

We have been doing this for 11 months, well most have anyway, at this point why can't we just let the vaccine rollout to an even higher percentage of the population, then settle back and see what transpires.  To me, a small price to pay at this point.  It sucks, totally, but IMO, a few more months can make the difference.

Yep the vaccines are additional tools in the fight, that fact that we are using new tools is not the time to abandon the older tools.  The sooner and better we use every tool, the faster this goes into history.