Edge Crew Getting Boosters this Weekend

[SeaHunt]

  I applaud Celebrity 😊  Crew-center says the Edge crew will be getting their boosters this weekend while in FLL.

 

"Celebrity Cruises crew aboard the Celebrity Edge will get booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine this weekend after the ship completes its 7-Night Puerto Rico, St.Thomas & St. Maarten cruise. The booster jab is mandatory for all eligible crew.

 

The crew onboard Celebrity Edge received an email informing them about the new RCG Vaccine Policy and the date of the vaccination. “Booster vaccines is a crucial step forward as we work to stay ahead of the virus and keep everyone safe. For this reason, booster vaccines will be required and will become part of our Royal Caribbean Group Vaccine Policy.” RCG letter reads in parts.

 

Vaccinations will take place on Sunday December 19, at the Normandie Restaurant after the ship arrives at its homeport Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The crew will be receiving the Pfizer booster which is mRNA type approved by the WHO, FDA (U.S.) and EMA (E.U.).

 

https://crew-center.com/celebrity-edge-crew-get-booster-shot-covid-19-vaccine

[cruisestitch]

Surely they should stagger them?  What if there are a lot of reactions simultaneously?

[mom says]

18 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Surely they should stagger them?  What if there are a lot of reactions simultaneously?

What if the crew who has to wait gets covid while they wait for the next clinic in a week or 2? Which is worse? The disease and quarantine or a sore arm? The odds that a large proportion of the crew would be knocked out of commission by the booster is pretty slim.

Edited December 18, 2021 by mom says

[Nashna]

I think this is great news.  It's nice to know that the crew is up to date on their vaccinations.  Very few people that I know who received the booster had a bad reaction.

[TeeRick]

Very important safety step for crew and passengers.

[CalTexCruiser]

Anyone hear if Apex crew getting booster soon?

 

Studies have shown that the double vaccinated are as susceptible as the non-vaccinated

 

and should celebrity redefine vaccinated as tripled jabbed effective immediately?

[wrk2cruise]

We were on Summit in early November and the crew who had received J&J were receiving Pfizer  boosters.  The crew we spoke with were very happy to be receiving them.  A few seemed to be a bit under the weather the next couple of days.

[D C]

Glad they're getting boosters and that they're mRNA!

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, CalTexCruiser said:

Anyone hear if Apex crew getting booster soon?

 

Studies have shown that the double vaccinated are as susceptible as the non-vaccinated

 

and should celebrity redefine vaccinated as tripled jabbed effective immediately?

You are right about wanting people to be triple vaccinated as it offers some protection against Omicron.   And some cruise passengers are in this category already.  But the majority of the population in general is not, including the cruising population.  So if cruise lines like Celebrity require triple vaccination they really cannot do it immediately.  They would lose a lot of currently paid passengers (for now anyway).  They might do it on future cruises perhaps in another month or two if they start getting a lot more positive tests on their ships.  And they might require masks sooner than this.  We shall see.  Tough situation for all of us.

[D C]

14 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

You are right about wanting people to be triple vaccinated as it offers some protection against Omicron.   And some cruise passengers are in this category already.  But the majority of the population in general is not, including the cruising population.  So if cruise lines like Celebrity require triple vaccination they really cannot do it immediately.  They would lose a lot of currently paid passengers (for now anyway).  They might do it on future cruises perhaps in another month or two if they start getting a lot more positive tests on their ships.  And they might require masks sooner than this.  We shall see.  Tough situation for all of us.

They could require boosters as soon as one is eligible.  Then it's a rolling requirement. 

[TeeRick]

15 minutes ago, D C said:

They could require boosters as soon as one is eligible.  Then it's a rolling requirement. 

They could definitely require and implement mRNA booster doses for all crew and employees immediately.  That would be doable and smart.  Especially if crew on some ships just have the 1-dose J&J vaccine.  

[CalTexCruiser]

I understand that requiring triple vaccination immediately means that a large percentage of customers will no longer be allowed to cruise.

 

However, the omicron virus is so contagious that it can rapidly affect a large number of people very quickly.  Think Symphony of the Seas with their 44 positive cases, and multiply that by several factors.  This will be a public relations disaster, even if cases turn out to be mild.

 

The current estimates are that double doses of mRNA vaccines are 30-40% effective, while triple doses are 70-75% effective against omicron.

 

What this means is that a cruise with a large percentage of just double-vaccinated cruisers may be hit hard.  The two-day before cruising testing regimen is probably not good enough with omicron.  At a minimum, Celebrity will likely have to test at the pier.

[Alakegirl]

On 12/17/2021 at 6:20 PM, mom says said:

What if the crew who has to wait gets covid while they wait for the next clinic in a week or 2? Which is worse? The disease and quarantine or a sore arm? The odds that a large proportion of the crew would be knocked out of commission by the booster is pretty slim.

No need to wait a week or two but a few days would be prudent…..what if Captain and staff Captain both have reactions simultaneously?  Giving the entire crew their boosters on the same day seems unwise

[D C]

24 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

I understand that requiring triple vaccination immediately means that a large percentage of customers will no longer be allowed to cruise.

 

However, the omicron virus is so contagious that it can rapidly affect a large number of people very quickly.  Think Symphony of the Seas with their 44 positive cases, and multiply that by several factors.  This will be a public relations disaster, even if cases turn out to be mild.

 

The current estimates are that double doses of mRNA vaccines are 30-40% effective, while triple doses are 70-75% effective against omicron.

 

What this means is that a cruise with a large percentage of just double-vaccinated cruisers may be hit hard.  The two-day before cruising testing regimen is probably not good enough with omicron.  At a minimum, Celebrity will likely have to test at the pier.

Requiring boosters is a hurdle that lowers by the day.

The UK is offering them at 3 months.  The US is at 6 months.   With jabs being readily available in the US mid-summer, we're quickly approaching the point of being 6 months post-jab for a LOT of people.  If the US dropped boosters to 3 months, it'd be possible to sail with nobody more than 3-months post 2nd or booster. 

[Nashna]

It will be interesting to see how quickly we change to 3, 4 or 5 months rather than 6.  

[Jim_Iain]

I'm guessing the booster is a 2nd dose.   In speaking to the crew they said they were given the J&J immediately after joining the ship since only one dose was required for "Full Vaccination" status.   I'm glad they are providing the crew with a booster regardless of the original shot type. 

[D C]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm guessing the booster is a 2nd dose.   In speaking to the crew they said they were given the J&J immediately after joining the ship since only one dose was required for "Full Vaccination" status.   I'm glad they are providing the crew with a booster regardless of the original shot type. 

Hopefully it's followed up with a 2nd booster since it's looking more and more like the J&J should have been 2 jabs all along. 

[D C]

5 hours ago, Nashna said:

It will be interesting to see how quickly we change to 3, 4 or 5 months rather than 6.  

If the 'news' about boosters being the key to minimizing breakthrough cases hold up, I would expect we'll see 3-month boosters early next year. 

[Jim_Iain]

26 minutes ago, D C said:

Hopefully it's followed up with a 2nd booster since it's looking more and more like the J&J should have been 2 jabs all along. 

Agree.   My Son and His wife originally had J&J and later had a Moderna second and a Booster.

[Northern Aurora]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm guessing the booster is a 2nd dose.   In speaking to the crew they said they were given the J&J immediately after joining the ship since only one dose was required for "Full Vaccination" status.   I'm glad they are providing the crew with a booster regardless of the original shot type. 

 

 

When we were on the Millennium in September we ran into a number of crew we had met on prior cruises.    While we didn't ask which vaccine type they received, a number of them told us and in turn asked what type we had received.  I spoke with one person who had received the J&J single shot version, but a number of them had received Moderna.  We received our first dose of Moderna in January with the second in February, and received a number of questions as to whether we had side effects from the second shot as several of the crew did.  Crew who did not have a significant reaction to the second Moderna dose were certainly aware of other crew who did, hence their curiosity.

[Jim_Iain]

It is amazing how side affects works.   On our First and Second shots I had none (except injection site pain)  while Iain had Flu Like symptoms after the First but not the second.   When we had the booster we both experienced  extreme lethargy on the day after the booster  for just one day and then back to normal.

 

Like @Northern Aurora we never asked any of the crew but had a stateroom attendant that was very chatty and enjoyed on engaging us in conversation every time we saw him.    He was passing on the J&J and said that in his group they gave them the J&J so they would only have to quarantine for 14 days.    He did say some of his shipmates joined during the 30 day per-passenger prep and had gotten Moderna.  

 

[D C]

Of all the conversation with crew on the Reflection last month, none of it was about vaccines.  Now I'm curious and will have to ask when we're back onboard next month. 

 

The variation in side effects is indeed curious. DW and DD essentially played cat for a day and slept after jab 1.   I was a bit tired after 1, barely noticed 2, and fell asleep on the couch and went to bed early after 3.   That was ~24 hrs after the jab. Next day? Perfectly fine. 

 

[TeeRick]

10 hours ago, D C said:

Of all the conversation with crew on the Reflection last month, none of it was about vaccines.  Now I'm curious and will have to ask when we're back onboard next month. 

 

The variation in side effects is indeed curious. DW and DD essentially played cat for a day and slept after jab 1.   I was a bit tired after 1, barely noticed 2, and fell asleep on the couch and went to bed early after 3.   That was ~24 hrs after the jab. Next day? Perfectly fine. 

 

People (in this case crew members) can perhaps offer up their own vaccine story if they want, but I think we should respect their privacy and not actually ask them.  Just my view.

[TeeRick]

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is amazing how side affects works.   On our First and Second shots I had none (except injection site pain)  while Iain had Flu Like symptoms after the First but not the second.   When we had the booster we both experienced  extreme lethargy on the day after the booster  for just one day and then back to normal.

 

Like @Northern Aurora we never asked any of the crew but had a stateroom attendant that was very chatty and enjoyed on engaging us in conversation every time we saw him.    He was passing on the J&J and said that in his group they gave them the J&J so they would only have to quarantine for 14 days.    He did say some of his shipmates joined during the 30 day per-passenger prep and had gotten Moderna.  

 

I agree with others and it seems rather obvious now in retrospect that one-shot of J&J was not fully vaccinated and those crew members in this category are at risk and are putting their ships at risk particularly when it comes to Omicron.  I applaud cruise lines and ships that now recognize this and are getting them a booster of an mRNA vaccine.  I have friends unfortunately that got 1 shot of J&J early on and have no plans to get a booster and I am worried for them!

[CalTexCruiser]

On Odyssey of the Seas, of the 55 positive COVID cases, 52 are reportedly with the crew.

 

I sure hope Celebrity is systematically boosting their crew on all their ships with the third shot...outbreaks among crew are gonna happen sooner or later without the boosting.

 

I'm on Apex Jan 8 and am anxiously awaiting news of any large outbreaks on Celebrity ships--so far so good.