In the year the cruise industry and public health officials suspended cruises, operators have consistently extended their cancellations. And again. And again.
Cruises outside of the US have restarted, paused, and restarted. And yet the question remains: when will the cruise resume in the United States?
“Cruise ships are eagerly awaiting an update from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] to outline the next steps for a restart, “Colleen McDaniel, editor-in-chief of Cruise News website Cruise Critic, said in an email. “The latest positive news about vaccine distribution in the US could be a step in the right direction, although the actual return to major cruises from the US will depend on when the CDC deems it appropriate.”
The Canadian government has extended a cruise ship ban until February 2022, which is expected to block trips to Alaska this year. Associated photo of the press file
According to Bari Golin-Blaugrund, spokeswoman for the Cruise Lines International Association, large ships are already sailing outside the United States in Singapore and parts of Europe, and more than 360,000 passengers have sailed since last summer.
Royal Caribbean announced cruises from Israel for local residents starting in May. All crew members and passengers aged 16 and over must be fully vaccinated. And the luxury line Crystal Cruises is planning to sail one of its ships with vaccinated passengers in the Bahamas from July.
But after several high-profile outbreaks on ships, no one expects a return to pre-pandemic cruises anytime soon. Where they started again, cruise lines require negative coronavirus tests, masks and social distancing on board, and ships less than full.
WHO officials call blood clots “very rare”
GENEVA – A leading World Health Organization expert on vaccines says people should feel reassured that such cases are “very rare,” even if health officials link blood clots to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr. Kate O’Brien, WHO director of vaccinations and vaccines, said the UN Health Authority and the European Medicines Agency were trying to investigate the possibility of a link between blood clots and the AstraZeneca shots. The possible side effects have led some countries – mainly in Europe – to temporarily stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine.
A WHO vaccine committee is dealing with the issue.
“I think the confirmation to the public is that regardless of whether the committee ultimately judges whether or not there is a link between these events and the vaccine, these are definitely very rare events,” O’Brien said during a Wednesday press conference.
The European Medicines Agency’s and WHO’s current “risk-benefit assessment” calls for countries to keep taking AstraZeneca shots, she said. Both WHO and EMA are expected to provide updated recommendations on Wednesday or Thursday.
O’Brien generally said, “Vaccination recommendations are dynamic” and are reviewed over days, months, and years. She found that blood clots occur regularly in the population.
“What we don’t know is whether or not this experience was vaccine-related,” she said. “The important point is that if someone has symptoms, serious medical symptoms, whether or not you have been vaccinated, it is important to see a doctor to determine the presence of those symptoms.”
The comments came at a press conference that outlined how a WHO vaccine expert panel recommended the use of Johnson & Johnson’s one-off COVID-19 vaccine, which has already been approved for emergency use by the UN agency.
Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith, technical advisor to the panel of experts, noted that studies on the J&J vaccine involving around 42,000 people revealed 10 cases of clotting in the placebo group – just over half of all participants – and 14 cases among them those who did the vaccine has been administered. She called this difference “not statistically significant”.
All Duke students ordered to quarantine
DURHAM, NC – Duke University issued a quarantine order for all of its students on Saturday night due to a coronavirus outbreak caused by students who attended recruitment parties.
The university said in a statement that all undergraduate students will be forced to stay in place until at least March 21. Suspension or discharge from school are possible penalties for “flagrant or repeated violations”.
In the past week, the school has reported more than 180 positive cases of coronavirus in students. There are another 200 students who may have been exposed and quarantined.
The school said in the statement that the outbreak was “mainly caused by students attending recruitment parties for selective living groups”.
Duke said there would be an update on the guidelines on Thursday.
Australia sends vaccines to Papua New Guinea
CANBERRA, Australia – The Australian government is stepping up COVID-19 vaccination support to Papua New Guinea to curb a worrying wave of infections near a neighbor.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday that 8,000 doses of the Australian vaccine will be sent to Papua New Guinea next week to be used by front-in-health workers. Morrison and his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape would ask AstraZentica to send another 1 million cans to Australia’s closest neighbor as soon as possible.
The European Union this month banned a shipment destined for Australia of more than 250,000 cans of AstraZenica from leaving Italy as Australian demand was not considered great enough.
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