Arnie Weissmann
This week, Dr. Stephen Ostroff, he feels good, unmasked, inside and circulates among 2,608 other (mostly) unmasked people.
This is not what to expect from a CDC veteran of 20+ who specializes in emerging infectious diseases and has also served as senior scientist for the Food and Drug Administration (twice as deputy director).
But there is a very special circumstance that ensures that the doctor feels comfortable inside, among thousands of people, without a mask: Each and every one of them is certified vaccinated and had a negative Covid test before coming to him inside.
“Inside” is within the confines of the quiet, the Norwegian Cruise Line’s first ship to depart from a US port since the pandemic was declared.
A self-proclaimed “vaccination zealot”, Ostroff served on the Healthy sailing panel by experts, compiled by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and the Royal Caribbean Group, who developed 74 recommendations for minimizing health risks on board.
That was before the widespread availability of the Covid-19 vaccine. Today, Ostroff sits on a successor body, NCLH’s SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council, a post-vaccination committee that continues to provide health and disinfection guidelines to NCLH to minimize the risks of cruising during a pandemic.
That CDC has offered two options to cruise lines departing from US ports: Either sail with at least 95% vaccinated guests and crew members, with no apparent guest restrictions, or sail with lower rates of vaccinated guests and crew members and then keep logs that will noticeably affect the cruise experience.
But Ostroff told the media on board the Encore, “There’s a difference between 100% and 95%. One hundred percent should simply be the standard for cruise lines [safest you can be]except to lock yourself in your home. “
NCL President Harry Sommer explained this using the example of the Encore. “On a ship this size that is only 95% vaccinated, you could have 200 unvaccinated passengers and 100 unvaccinated crew members. We’re not going to get into this situation.”
Ostroff named three standards that he considers necessary to sail safely even with 100% vaccinated guests and crew: First and foremost, prevent the virus from getting on the ship. Second, when it comes on board, make sure the chances of its spread are minimized. And third, minimize the chances of someone contracting the virus becoming seriously ill and take care of them if they do.
# 1 requires vaccinations and tests. Tests are especially important, he said, as the best vaccine is only 95% effective.
Advanced air filtration, disinfectant, and # 2 contact tracking address (using facial recognition software to scan the ship’s ubiquitous video feed speeds up contact tracking).
And free medical care for respiratory problems, an on-board intensive care unit, isolation cubicles, and a pro-rata refund policy support # 3.
“We got pretty close to a bubble,” said Ostroff. “If the unvaccinated are there, these three things cannot be achieved to the same extent. The Delta variant focuses like a laser on the unvaccinated. Even if there are only a small number of them, it will find them.”
During the voyage, the absence of children under the age of 12 was noticed, especially on a ship with so many attractions specially designed for children. Ostroff said he expects children 6 and over to start vaccinating in “late autumn”.
The Encore is the second cruise ship I was vaccinated on with 100% of the guests and crew (the first was on Silversea’s Silver moon, Sailing in the Greek islands). On both crossings I had the feeling that I saw a glimpse into an idealized future in which Covid has been eliminated.
But in reality it’s more of a glimpse into the not-too-distant past. Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, another member of the SailSAFE council, has said that Covid is likely to stay here, possibly as a seasonal threat.
That News that NCL has obtained an injunction against the state of Florida to require proof of vaccination from cruises leaving Florida ports was presented during the cruise. After experiencing the feeling of freedom and peace of mind that a fully vaccinated cruise allows, it strikes me as strange that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would go on the mat to ban this option if nothing in NCLH’s victory is another Cruise line could prevent from sailing with fewer numbers of vaccinated guests. (NCLH is the only one of the four major cruise lines that has insisted on only sailing with 100% vaccinated passengers.)
Perhaps as an indication of how safe a 100% vaccinated cruise is compared to other places, Ostroff said there was one circumstance under which he would put his mask on on the ship: while preparing for a shore excursion.
Being on a 100% vaccinated ship, he claimed, “shows you what’s possible”.
