With Canada now having fully vaccinated 80% of eligible adults, Norwegian Cruise Line VP Agency Sales North America Derek Lloyd is hopeful work can be done to fill the 'holes' in the vaccination process that are preventing some Canadians from travelling.
The biggest 'hole' is mixed vaccinations. During Canada's early struggles to obtain a steady and adequate supply of vaccine, health officials recommended taking the first available option. When it was time for a second dose, many were offered a different vaccine and assured the combination was safe.
The problem for travellers is that mixed vaccinations are not yet recognized by many countries, including the U.S., so Canadians in that situation may not be considered fully vaccinated.
The current policy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is that it only considers people fully vaccinated when they have received two doses of Pfizer and Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson.
However, in a recent update, the CDC says mixed doses of the two mRNA vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, are acceptable in "exceptional situations," such as when the vaccine used for the first dose was no longer available. That would apply to many Canadians.
For Norwegian Cruise Line, that update was enough to now allow those with a Pfizer/Moderna mix to board cruises departing U.S. ports. Lloyd says that decision "has relieved some of the pressure" on Canadian travellers.
The news hasn't yet got better for Canadians who received mixed doses of viral vector-based Astra-Zeneca along with a Moderna or Pfizer mRNA vaccine. More than 3 million doses of Astra-Zeneca have been administered in Canada, most of them as first jabs. So far, there's no sign that the U.S. will accept that combination.
Many thought the mixed vaccination situation would be sorted out by now, but the reality is that things look like they'll get worse before they get better.
Canadians have been able to fly freely to the United States since the start of the pandemic, but new rules set to take effect in early November will require foreign air passengers entering the country to be fully vaccinated. That means fully vaccinated according to U.S. regulations which currently do not include two shots of Astra-Zeneca.
While it appears that the CDC is tacitly accepting the Moderna/Pfizer combo, at this point those with a mix of AstraZeneca and an mRNA vaccine will still be left out in the cold.
"Hindsight is always 20/20," says Lloyd. "I understand what the government was trying to do at a time when vaccine supply was limited. But the situation now is confusing for many Canadians."
So far, four provinces - Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta -- are offering third vaccine doses to their citizens who require it for travel. That seems like a winning solution as we're already talking about booster shots for vulnerable Canadians later in the fall.
For its part, the federal government is working to convince the U.S. that mixed vaccinations are just as effective as single-brand - including a mix of viral vector and mRNA vaccines -- but that could take some time, as the CDC is waiting for more research before making a decision.
At NCL, the company decided early that all of its crew members and passengers would require full vaccination. While crew remain masked, cruisers don't have to, and that's a big plus for many, including Lloyd, who travelled aboard Norwegian Encore to Alaska in August, and said the atmosphere "felt almost normal."
For cruises departing U.S. ports, Norwegian considers anyone who received two doses of Astra-Zeneca, Moderna or Pfizer to be fully vaccinated, for cruises throughout 2021. Those who received mixed doses of Moderna and Pfizer are also considered fully vaccinated as long as the interval between shots was at least 28 days. But again, the Astra-Zeneca plus Moderna or Pfizer mix won't fly - or in this case cruise.
Lloyd agrees the shifting rules are creating confusion, but also sees it as an opportunity for travel advisors to show their value.
"Travel is doable, but it's complicated. I don't think the travel agent community is doing enough to let people know they can guide them through the process. They should be shouting it from the rooftops."
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