Tulips

Everything is ready to vaccinate large numbers of people. The vaccines are just not there. Hopefully once J&J can produce and deliver large numbers, it will improve, since you'll only need one shot of this. Here in Belgium only one million people out of 11 have been vaccinated now.

swandav2000

Exactly, Tulips. In my town, we are at 4.3% fully vaccinated, 9.3% with 1 shot.

s

menachem

Oh, we've got nearly a million in stock, but no one's getting them. Well, yesterday we had a little ramp up, but we're nowhere near the levels before the Astra Zeneca pause and those were dismal already. Yet De Jonge promised/lied to us that "everyone" would be vaccinated by end of july. Haha.

menachem

June. And I'm in a high risk group (cancer, immunosuppressed)

swandav2000

Oh no menachem!! It's an excruciating wait. I have 2 friends here, married to each other, both over 70, both cancer survivors, and the wife with COPD. They are in Group 2. I check every day to see if they will be vaccinating that group yet.

I do hope you get vaccinated before June!



s

Heimdall

I’m waiting to see when the US will allow EU tourists to travel to our country. Currently they are banned by presidential proclamation, initiated by Trump and then renewed by Biden. When the US ban is lifted the EU may reciprocate, but until then it’s a case of “I want to come to your house but you can’t come to mine”.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...countries.html

Tulips

We did not have an Astra Zeneca pause in Belgium. This week and next it's the 75+ who do not live in care homes.
They are talking about 200.000 or more a week from April.

Meanwhile the shops and schools are closed again because of increasing numbers.

We are a long way from allowing transatlantic travel again, both ways. We are not planning any travel at the moment.

Traveler_Nick

There is no blanket ban on Americans. Delta and Alitalia are running covid tests flights to Rome all the time now. I think I heard Milan was going to be added.

Heimdall

Traveller Nick, read this:
https://www.etias.us/europe-travel-r...s-us-citizens/

Also with regards to Italy, the Entry and Exit Requirements paragraph here:
https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

“Essential travel is allowed and includes students, businesspersons, EU residents, and relatives of Italian citizens.”

Jean

In the news today, despite millions of vaccinations administered, 26 U.S. states report an increase in Covid cases and 13 states report an increase in hospitalizations for Covid. There are still 1000 deaths from Covid reported in the U.S. every day. The more contagious California variant of Covid, which is now the dominant strain in the state, has been detected on the East Coast. And the more vaccine resistant Brazilian and U.K. variants have been detected in several states. These are all called "variants of concern" by the CDC.

Here's the CDC's current info:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019...ant-cases.html

Anyone who thinks we're quickly heading into happy travel land is ignoring reality.

ChrisC101

Well I am going to remain hopeful for Fall but more optimistic for Spring 2022. At some point vaccination, and continued measures such as mask wearing, distancing and hand washing are going to need to work for travel, otherwise we will never be able to travel again. COVID isn’t going away, likely to become endemic. If by Fall we would put anyone in Europe at risk despite being vaccinated, continuing to wear masks and keep distance (one reason we were planning heavily outdoor focused travel) we will just go somewhere else and hope 2022 works.

Dukey1

I honestly do not expect to be allowed in on any plane from the US at the very end of August for the opera in Verona. They may very well go on with the program and if they do then our tickets are useless but that's the chance one takes Hopefully in 2022 we shall be able to attend. In the meanwhile we have reservations for travel closer to home and within parts of North America as substitutes.

Perhaps I should be thinking Christmas markets!!!

ChrisC101

It’s too bad those of you in the EU can’t come here for vaccines, California is getting 3 million doses per week and by April 15 that will be up to 3 million doses per week. Fingers crossed for the EU in the future.

Dukey1

I honestly do not expect to be allowed in on any plane from the US at the very end of August for the opera in Verona. They may very well go on with the program and if they do then our tickets are useless but that's the chance one takes Hopefully in 2022 we shall be able to attend. In the meanwhile we have reservations for travel closer to home and within parts of North America as substitutes.

Perhaps I should be thinking Christmas markets!!!

menachem

This afternoon, a careless webcare staffer revealed on twitter, that "October" is now in sight, even though De Jonge told us/lied in the Government presser that we would "all" be vaccinated "in July"

We're also in a deep political crisis, and are facing a huge surge in infections, because the incumbent parties relaxed restrictions for electoral capital in our elections last week.

Trophywife007

A positive note for us: We were all signed up to go to the Monaco Grand Prix last year which was, of course, cancelled; we were offered to opportunity to transfer it to this year for a "slight" fee, were sweating it out this year with things not sounding optimistic, but were thankfully given the chance to transfer everything until next year with no additional cost. Our flight to Nice had been significantly rescheduled so we were able to cancel that for a refund, and now am waiting for a schedule change on the overseas flight (which is refundable, but with a small fee).

Maybe others will have similar experiences, since the organizers of events are conscious of whether or not restaurants and shops will be open, etc.

We're still very much hoping on our planned Switzerland trip this mid July to work out. I'm sure hotels and other tourist related businesses are desperate.

The vaccine may not keep everyone from getting Covid but I hear that apparently it is effective at keeping people out of the hospital and from dying including those with the variant forms.

Jean

"The vaccine may not keep everyone from getting Covid but I hear that apparently it is effective at keeping people out of the hospital and from dying including those with the variant forms."

The scientific jury is still out on that point as more variants (and variants of variants) emerge and some have the potential to evade the current vaccines. In order to slow down the evolution of the virus, the world needs to vaccinate everyone quickly (not happening in very many places) and keep people from circulating (happening in some places but with weakened effect because it's not happening everywhere).

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/2021...ravaged-brazil

Dukey1

In the United States anyway it does not help when a bunch of people have said they think the vaccine is "dangerous" or "not necessary" or both and are refusing to get it. There is now talk in some quarters about making those people "feel responsible" some way or another for the delay in reaching hurd immunity.

twk

Polls indicate that about 8% of the US population say they will never take it, and that number hasn't changed much, but the folks who were just reluctant to get it are edging towards vaccination as they see their friends and neighbors getting the vaccine without any unbearable side effects.

Dukey1

Let's hope some of those people "edge" a little bit faster and stop complaining about how masks are limiting their supposed "freedoms" and the rest of that self-serving BS.