Preboarding Medical Questionnaire? "Have you had a Covid vacinnation inthe lst 6 months?" Trick Question?

[xcell]

OK is this a trick question -- I had one in Jan 2022 so that's more than 6 months but that is my 3rd booster...I think I'm over thinking this...

[Monkeygirl2]

Might be a generic question and they havent updated their web page so refer to MSC, I dont think they are trying to trip you up. Expect we will have the same issue when we sail with them in Jan. Good luck

[Tierun]

Just off Divina a couple weeks ago no issues. They verify the vaccine card as they reviewed the questionnaire.

[Georgia_Peaches]

15 hours ago, Tierun said:

Just off Divina a couple weeks ago no issues. They verify the vaccine card as they reviewed the questionnaire.

What does verifying the vaccine card entail?  Are they comparing the original vax dates to the questionnaire?   I am about to fill out the same thing as OP and was confused. We haven’t had a booster and our original vax was in 2021, so more than 6 months ago. The website says boosters are recommended but I see nothing about them being required. This question makes me a little nervous bc it seems like they want to know if I’m boosterd even though it’s not required. 

[Tierun]

I believe Europe requires the booster if more than 6 months, but not US sailings. Check the website for the protocols 

[styles27]

17 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

What does verifying the vaccine card entail?  Are they comparing the original vax dates to the questionnaire?   I am about to fill out the same thing as OP and was confused. We haven’t had a booster and our original vax was in 2021, so more than 6 months ago. The website says boosters are recommended but I see nothing about them being required. This question makes me a little nervous bc it seems like they want to know if I’m boosterd even though it’s not required. 

I called MSC this week to ask about this because it also says “vaccination cards must be valid for the duration of the cruise” so that to me seemed to imply that there is an expiration date for our vaccines. 
The agent told me that some ports of call have different requirements so she advised me to check the countries that we would be visiting to be sure. 
I couldn’t find anything that suggested the places we’re cruising to have expiration dates for the vaccine. Most of them follow WHO’s guidelines. 
 

Our last booster was 10/25/21 and we’re cruising 12/30/22 for two weeks so we will be way over 12 months since our last shot. 
 

We decided we’ll get a second booster since our age group qualifies, but I seriously doubt any of these ports are checking vaccination cards. 

[jennyct]

I called and they said boosters are only recommended. Even in Europe. The vaccine is not a booster, they are two different things. Then I called my doctor and they said the same ... the vaccine is not the booster.

[publicpersona]

3 hours ago, jennyct said:

The vaccine is not a booster, they are two different things.

 

This could be misinterpreted. Yes, you are considered vaccinated if you complete the full original dosage for the vaccine (e.g., for Pfizer, two shots). If you have additional shots, they are boosters, and the language being used is "up-to-date" if you have all the additional shots recommended.

 

That said, to say the vaccine and the booster are two different things shouldn't be construed to mean that there is a difference in the shots. Each shot, be it in the original series or a booster, is exactly the same.

 

There will be "boosters" forthcoming that are an updated formulation.

[styles27]

This is interesting from the cdc website. It clearly states that being “up to date” i.e. Covid vaccines includes recommended boosters. I guess I’m not “up to date” as I’ve only had 1 booster but at 55 I’m eligible for a second. 

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by styles27