Any reason to bring Covid Vaccine Record onboard?

[Mike B Landlubber]

I returned from an Adventure Canada trip a week ago. We had been told in advance that our vaccination cards would have to be presented to board. In the event, we just had to sign (with all sorts of oaths, penalties, and spitting over our shoulder) a declaration that we had been vaccinated (may have been more specific, but don’t remember now). Both governments and travel providers could decide they want the card in a flash.

[SumoCitrus]

You could just wear a t-shirt that says:

 

"I got the Clot Shot and all I got was this stupid card."

 

😎

[DBColorado]

On 9/27/2023 at 1:08 PM, ECCruise said:

Walgreens here stamped them yesterday.

Thank you.  We went back to our Walgreens and they stamped are cards.  Told us they are only doing it here (Idaho) if you ask for it.

[SargassoPirate]

My shot card is full, so it'll be interesting to see what they do when I get the next booster.

 

[AncientWanderer]

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

My shot card is full, so it'll be interesting to see what they do when I get the next booster.

 

 

 

From reading this thread, it seems to be different depending on where you are.  At the big box store in Southern California, we were told they are no longer using the cards. But I noticed that the paperwork given to us has a tidy little area, scored as if to cut out, that has printed all the information -- our names, date, type of shot, all that -- and it's just about the same size as the vaccine cards, so I cut it out to keep with the cards.

 

We have the state registry with QR codes, but for travel, I like having the proof in hand.  Nobody seems to ask for it lately, but things certainly can change.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

My shot card is full, so it'll be interesting to see what they do when I get the next booster.

 

We each were given a second card.

[SargassoPirate]

9 hours ago, ontheweb said:

We each were given a second card.

I may ask for a second card.  With several cruises booked for the next couple of years and since covid tends to make officials panic, I think carrying up to date covid vaccination records is the smart play.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

I may ask for a second card.  With several cruises booked for the next couple of years and since covid tends to make officials panic, I think carrying up to date covid vaccination records is the smart play.

There is no reason to not have the card as physical proof.

[Shmoo here]

10 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

My shot card is full, so it'll be interesting to see what they do when I get the next booster.

 

We got a whole new card with our last booster.  It only has the booster listed on it, however, so we now have 2 cards.

[RuthC]

12 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

My shot card is full, so it'll be interesting to see what they do when I get the next booster.

 

When my first card was full, I was just given a second card. The pharmacy even stapled the two cards together. 

[sciencewonk]

On 9/27/2023 at 3:30 PM, SargassoPirate said:

In the digital world, actual documents win every time.  While electronic copies may help you get a replacement, nothing beats the real deal for any situation that requires proof positive, especially when dealing with a foreign government official invested with a little power.

Australia does not have paper proof-of-vaccine documents, only digital.

[AKJonesy]

@FlaMariner I mean...I hear you.  We have 2 trips that we are checked in for and HAL asks to check the box for initial CV shot and 1 booster.  But, like you ours were in 2022; like January.  It's more of a mental thing for me and reminder of the GREAT unpleasantness (btw, I love that!)  Do whatever you want.  I was sicker with NORO than anything in my life on a cruise.  After that unpleasantness, I became very aware of the importance of hand washing and not touching my face.  That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.  🙂.    

[CruisingGrandmaW]

On 9/27/2023 at 11:41 AM, DBColorado said:

Had our COVID booster last week.  When we presented our cards were told that they no longer stamp them.  

Had the Covid Booster last week at Walgreen's - they recorded the info on our Covid Vaccination card.

[pmjnh]

On 10/1/2023 at 2:51 AM, SargassoPirate said:

My shot card is full, so it'll be interesting to see what they do when I get the next booster.

 

Last week, Osco gave is a sticker with the vax info to place on our card..where ever there was room..it fit over the fine print of the card.

[Wayfairers]

We always take our covid vaccination cards when traveling - never know when rules may change and we need them.  Had to show them twice (2 different states) early summer 2021 in the western US when no one else in the US was requiring them.  Almost left them at home that trip - glad we didn’t.  Both times it was required to shop in a store without a mask after all mask mandates were lifted and no one else in either town required a vaccination or a mask.   I realize that was a couple of years ago, but we travel for months at a time internationally and you just never know what will happen.

[SargassoPirate]

22 hours ago, sciencewonk said:

Australia does not have paper proof-of-vaccine documents, only digital.

So how does that work for a US citizen showing up with paper only?

[SargassoPirate]

19 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

@FlaMariner I mean...I hear you.  We have 2 trips that we are checked in for and HAL asks to check the box for initial CV shot and 1 booster.  But, like you ours were in 2022; like January.  It's more of a mental thing for me and reminder of the GREAT unpleasantness (btw, I love that!)  Do whatever you want.  I was sicker with NORO than anything in my life on a cruise.  After that unpleasantness, I became very aware of the importance of hand washing and not touching my face.  That's my plan and I'm sticking to it.  🙂.    

Having had a career in public health, and enjoying a lifestyle on the OCD spectrum, I wash frequently and the resanitize if I touch any common-use surface.  SWMBO used to call me Monk, but since the pandemic so sanitizes just like me.

 

 

 

[seaoma]

21 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Having had a career in public health, and enjoying a lifestyle on the OCD spectrum, I wash frequently and the resanitize if I touch any common-use surface.  SWMBO used to call me Monk, but since the pandemic so sanitizes just like me.

 

 

 

 

I've been sanitizing forever too. I started on planes and hotel rooms because they gave me the heebie jeebies. 

 

I do think if you want to avoid being sick, you should avoid people that look and act sick. One time we were on a cruise and sat at breakfast that had 2 tables separated by a low wall. A man walked up and I heard one of the women say to him that this was all the medication she had brought. My husband and I just quietly, yet quickly, picked up our plates and coffee and walked away. They gave us a very strange look and I don't know what kind of illness they had, but we weren't staying to find out.

 

If you want to really avoid covid, you need to wear a mask and definitely stay out of crowds in poorly ventilated rooms. It is airborne. I will say that we have been pleasantly surprised about the good ventilation in HAL's dining facilities on the ships we have recently been on. 

[AV8rix]

Regarding noro -- I never touch any common-use surface on the ships.  Even when it's rocking I don't use the handrails on stairs.  Before going to dinner in the MDR I check the menu on the TV or posted outside the MDR and decide in advance what I will order so I NEVER touch a menu.  Rarely use elevators but hit the button with elbow or knuckle when I do.  I use raw sugar for my tea, but since covid they no longer provide individual packets so I always bring my own so I don't have to touch the glass dispensers.  And I bring alcohol hand wipes.  That Purell that is provided will not protect against viruses.

 

And no, I'm not OCD but my first career was clinical microbiology.  So I have great knowledge of and respect for viruses.  And yes, I have been on sick ships but so far have never contracted noro -- or covid.  Knock wood.

Edited October 2, 2023 by AV8rix

[seaoma]

2 minutes ago, AV8rix said:

Regarding noro -- I never touch any common-use surface on the ships.  Even when it's rocking I don't use the handrails on stairs.  Before going to dinner in the MDR I check the menu on the TV or posted outside the MDR and decide in advance what I will order so I NEVER touch a menu.  Rarely use elevators but hit the button with elbow or knuckle when I do.  I use raw sugar for my tea, but since covid they don't provide individual packets so I always bring my own so I don't have to touch the glass dispensers.  And I bring alcohol hand wipes.  That Purell that is provided will not protect against viruses.

 

And no, I'm not OCD but my first career was clinical microbiology.  I have great knowledge of and respect for viruses.  And yes, I have been on sick ships but so far have never contracted noro -- or covid.  Knock wood.

 

I do as you do. I will add that I clean my hands with an alcohol based sanitizer spray that I bring with me both before I get something in the Lido and when I get back to my table after retrieving items touched by staff. My new thing I recently added on my last cruise, because I don't think the ships are being cleaned as well, is to use a napkin as a placemat so that I feel better placing my utensils on the table in the Lido, at the Lido or Seaview Pool. I know, I know, I have a problem but I haven't been sick on any of my 30+ cruises. 

 

I'm not OCD or a clinical microbiologist. I'm just a germaphobe that has gotten worse every year. I think it started when I began having kids 40+ years ago.

 

I have a healthy respect for viruses too since my mother was a lifelong sufferer with Post Polio Syndrome after a mild case of polio at age 13. 

[sciencewonk]

5 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

So how does that work for a US citizen showing up with paper only?

Currently, Australia doesn’t require proof of vaccine anywhere, including boarder security. We entered the country in 2021, when there was tight security and paper copies were sufficient. 

[Langoustine]

Take it. Things can change, and you never know when or where you may need it.

[SargassoPirate]

19 hours ago, seaoma said:

 

I do as you do. I will add that I clean my hands with an alcohol based sanitizer spray that I bring with me both before I get something in the Lido and when I get back to my table after retrieving items touched by staff. My new thing I recently added on my last cruise, because I don't think the ships are being cleaned as well, is to use a napkin as a placemat so that I feel better placing my utensils on the table in the Lido, at the Lido or Seaview Pool. I know, I know, I have a problem but I haven't been sick on any of my 30+ cruises. 

 

I'm not OCD or a clinical microbiologist. I'm just a germaphobe that has gotten worse every year. I think it started when I began having kids 40+ years ago.

 

I have a healthy respect for viruses too since my mother was a lifelong sufferer with Post Polio Syndrome after a mild case of polio at age 13. 

I'm part of the pre-vaccine polio generation.  My parents were scared to death of polio and enforced rigorous hand washing after touching any surface in public.  That tradition has been with me since and I seldom get sick with anything.

[highscar]

I pack food grade clear disposable gloves especially for the casino. 

[SargassoPirate]

5 hours ago, highscar said:

I pack food grade clear disposable gloves especially for the casino. 

Just curious, why?