I’m desperate to get out of Us and go on vacation.  My planned vacation to Spain for month of August is now tentative as US State Dept has issued a DO NOT TRAVEL to Spain & Portugal - cases are on the rise in both places..  According to NYT dashboard numbers - São Paulo has fewer cases per capita than most of Florida and Delta has been present in Brazil for awhile…cases appear on decline there. Would I be crazy to go to SP for month of September ?  I’m fully vaxxd and took Covid Spike test to confirm adequate immune response. 
 

my thinking has changed from black & white to shades of grey -meaning making educated decisions about going places when the numbers look in my favor and seizing the moment and accepting the risk.  As we are learning now - the virus is going to be in circulation in various forms & different places for months to come.  
 

I just retired at 59 and don’t want to lose any more time.

it's a tough one and I think we are all frustrated.  I have Airbnb booked for Sao Paulo and Rio for 2 weeks in December (can cancel up till Dec) but waiting to closer to date before booking flights.  At the moment Brazil has suspended entry permission for UK residents.  Last trip to Brazil was end of 2019 and I've planned and cancelled many trips since!  I'm also double vaccinated but even if Brazil allowed me in I would need to hotel quarantine on return to UK which I don't want to do.  Also being doubled vaxxed doesn't mean we can't catch covid just symptoms should be less severe.  I worry about being with 3 or 4 guys a night in sauna and how many they have also been with!  So hoping in next 4.5 months the vaccination rates in Brazil improve so travel restrictions will also be less.

I agree we are not getting any younger!  And doesn't appear to be any end in sight.

Vaccinated means less severe or pretty much like a cold, i wouldnt worry much, at least not for yourself. But yes, you can still very much spread the virus. And if guys u met isnt vaccinated, they might get severe complication. I believe we really should bring Vax for Vax back lol

I may be traveling in November, although I have not yet decided my destination. I am debating myself between Rio and Medellin. However, I am not booking anything or making any serious plans yet. The pandemic keeps changing, and international restrictions are definitely not over.

Just found out travel to Andalusia includes Covid insurance when staying at a hotel…..full medical/hospital/pharmacy coverage  provided.  That’s a game-changer for the planned trip to Spain late August.  But would be tough to be so close to Termas BCN and not go. Stay tuned.

actually, the Andalusia tourist Covid coverage scheme has limited coverage and is designed to supplement individually purchased international travel insurance.  Several regions in Spain offer this coverage.

Additionally, I’m looking at MedJet medical evacuation services for repatriation if hospitalized on either foreign or domestic trips more than 150 miles from home residence.  It’s not expensive considering the piece of mind and they offer several different short term/long term programs.  Never investigated it before, but makes a lot of sense now.

https://medjetassist.com

 

You may want to check the “small print” on those insurance policies @Slvkguy for quite often COVID-related infections are excluded. 
 

And you know that the various regions of Spain have different restrictions? For instance, Catalonia has imposed a curfew on lots of municipalities including Barcelona.

MedJet covers Covid ….they have an entire section on it. The most complicated part of a foreign Covid medical evacuation is permission to enter US w an active case…but, they are doing it.

Cancelled Spain - too complicated….friends in Spain say there are restrictions between cities/provinces that come & go. And, too much active Covid to be comfortable. 

On 8/1/2021 at 5:36 AM, Latbear4blk said:

I may be traveling in November, although I have not yet decided my destination. I am debating myself between Rio and Medellin. However, I am not booking anything or making any serious plans yet. The pandemic keeps changing, and international restrictions are definitely not over.

Yes, yes, yes!  "The pandemic keeps changing and international restrictions are definitely not over.  Thus, I personally have NO desire to travel anywhere internationally until some semblance of normalcy has occurred in this country and our world overall.  So, to dampen the disappointment, I've been viewing YouTube travel vids pertaining to the places to which I hope to travel later.  

To date I yearn to revisit Rio de janiero, Buenos Aires, Greece, Thailand, Spain, Mexico City, London, and other places outside of the United States.  But again, I have to feel comfortable and at ease.  [I've received the Moderna vaccine and would hope that any of my future playmates would have been vaccinated as well.

 

5 hours ago, Axiom2020 said:

Yes, yes, yes!  "The pandemic keeps changing and international restrictions are definitely not over.  Thus, I personally have NO desire to travel anywhere internationally until some semblance of normalcy has occurred in this country and our world overall.  So, to dampen the disappointment, I've been viewing YouTube travel vids pertaining to the places to which I hope to travel later.  

 

I agree with Axiom.  Now just does not seem to be a good time to travel out of ones home country.  Perhaps that might change later in the year but there is too much uncertainty right now...even for the vaccinated.  

Anyone traveling outside the USA now should be prepared to spend an additional 2 weeks abroad if they test positive for Covid before they return to the USA. This just happened to two healthy friends who were fully vaccinated (Moderna) and went to Peru. One of the guys had cold like symptoms and his husband basically had no symptoms but also tested positive. It was a real hassle to get a local doctor to clear them to fly after 14 days despite one of the guys being from Peru originally. As a physician I see random people off the street come in for surgery like a fracture, fully vaccinated and no symptoms but have a positive Covid test. I think the virus is basically flying around the air in most public places and can land in your nose--giving you a positive test. Thank God  the vaccines are working to prevent us from getting sick but definitely be ready to stay longer than expected.

With the Delta and other variants on the rise, I'm not planning any international travel at this point. I hope we get it under control, but I'm pretty sure we won't. Too many stupid assholes in the world.

 

 

A young provider/gogo I follow got a prime dose Pfizer in May and just got a 12-week-interval boost dose. I hope he has some influencer status among his peers. Glad to see it but was surprised given the age-based rollout time frames that has left other young people I know anxious and keen to receive just a prime dose only now available by SUS and possibly less effective than BNT162b2. 

According to NYT Covid dashboard today, Brazil’s Covid cases are on the decline (-31% 14 day moving average) and active cases are now 15 per 100,000 ppl.  If the Brazilian statistics are correct & not undercounted, then a trip to Brazil is much safer than most of Western Europe and the US. United States 14-day moving average is +76% and 38 active cases per 100,000

Does this change anyone’s thinking on a trip to SP or Rio ?  

Rios numbers are ticking up a bit, while SP is going down…..but, in general trends in Brazil seem to be good at the moment.

My view on Covid travel is it now has to be right place & right time.  I cancelled a monthlong trip to Spain starting late August given current trends there, but may replace it w a trip to Brazil given improving conditions. 
 

New York Times Covid dashboard is accessible w/o subscription-

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html?smid=url-share

SP state new case incidence is about 17/100K; city is about 10/100K. 

On 8/16/2021 at 7:43 AM, Riobard said:

SP state new case incidence is about 17/100K; city is about 10/100K. 

Does that mean that they haven't been hit with delta yet?

6 hours ago, davet said:

Does that mean that they haven't been hit with delta yet?

Yep. Delta is still unusual also in Argentina and, I understand, the rest of South America.

9 hours ago, davet said:

Does that mean that they haven't been hit with delta yet?

This VOC share-proportions chart below from a week ago is already outdated particularly for certain cities. Rio de Janeiro has Delta now about 60% of samples and São Paulo about one third. 

Reasons for incidence variations (non-specific subtype) within São Paulo state are complex. For example, the capital may have about the same vaccination uptake but a report a while back found that the proportion with natural immunity was high … > 40%, though that would be ancestral strain or the Gamma variant that is now receding. Obviously, there must be neutralizing cross-reactivity. And natural infection plus eventual vaccination with even just one dose likely confers protection synergistically. 

Whole-of-town vaccination experiments for Serrana and Botucatu are interesting because their recent incidence rates exceed the state average. But Serrana was CoronaVac that now needs a booster beyond prime-boost and Botucatu had a 3-month interval with the boost dose of Oxford/AstraZeneca only just now applied if the plan was upheld.

A lot of moving parts. I only track São Paulo in more detail. Bear in mind the majority are only partially vaccinated. Age 12-17 commences this week. 

If I can get the third shot in October, I will try to travel to Medellín o Rio in Thanksgiving week. I am seriously considering Colombia, but having second thoughts. It may not be a good idea to visit a city for the first time amidst the pandemic.

You can get a third shot any time you want it in the US - just cross state lines and go to a CVS or Walgreens.  No questions and it’s only tracked at state level.  You can select the type of shot you want on CVS appt website 

On 8/19/2021 at 7:56 AM, Slvkguy said:

You can get a third shot any time you want it in the US - just cross state lines and go to a CVS or Walgreens.  No questions and it’s only tracked at state level.  You can select the type of shot you want on CVS appt website 

I thought it's always a good idea to follow the advice of medical experts. 

i plan to travel in january 2022, after 2 long years. i got my vaccine in spring and i plan to take the booster shot in november. hopefully it will be enough.

On 8/21/2021 at 4:10 AM, scott456 said:

I thought it's always a good idea to follow the advice of medical experts. 

While I can’t disclose the medical facility - I’ll just say one of the top 3 hospitals in the US.  The docs there told me in July annual physical ….“unofficially” get the third dose as soon as you can wherever you can.  They also explained a third dose could do no harm other than similar second dose side effects.

We are each responsible to be our own health advocates.  You can wait for government direction I suppose…they also said no need to wear masks at beginning of pandemic.  

On 8/21/2021 at 5:40 AM, trzinko said:

i plan to travel in january 2022, after 2 long years. i got my vaccine in spring and i plan to take the booster shot in november. hopefully it will be enough.

That might be a better strategy than booster pursuit right now, if delay works for you. For example, Pfizer/BNT is now comparing boosters based on Alpha alone, Delta alone, and a multivalent combination of the two. While there is neutralizing crossreactivity for variants of concern, a booster at this moment is based on original wildtype and is from over a year ago.