The CDC’s latest guidance is forcing cruise lines to make some difficult decisions regarding their vaccination policy for passengers, including what to do about unvaccinated children.
US cruises inch closer to resuming as CDC issues trial cruise guidance
Cruise ship operators may begin simulated voyages with volunteer passengers, according to an order from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The guidelines are a new phase in the CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order, released in October as a phased approach for preventing Covid-19 transmission aboard cruise ships and eventually resuming cruises with paying passengers.
The instructions include eligibility and requirements for conducting a trial voyage, which would help prepare for future restricted passenger voyages, and guide cruise ship inspection on those voyages.
Simulated voyages must have at least 10% of the maximum number of passengers permitted on board a ship. Passengers must all be at least 18 years old and confirm in writing that they’re participating in a simulation voyage.
Covid-19 herd immunity is a difficult target, experts warn, but vaccinating teens could be key to protecting us this fall
Vaccinations could soon open up for children 12 to 15 years old, a development that could be key to protecting the United States against Covid-19 as overall vaccination rates slow.
“High school kids, in particular, are known to be just about as susceptible and just about as good at passing along this virus as other young adults,” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said on ABC’s Good Morning America Wednesday. “It will be really great to be able then to get that immunization schedule going well in advance of September.”
May 05, 2021
With the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) releasing a set of guidelines for cruise lines to apply and conduct so-called test voyages for simulation purposes with passengers, the agency left the door open for an easy workaround: vaccines. In lieu of conducting a simulated voyage, cruise ship operator responsible officials, at their discretion, may sign and submit to CDC an attestation under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 that 98 percent of crew are fully vaccinated and submit to CDC a clear and specific vaccination plan and timeline to limit cruise ship sailings to 95 percent of passengers who have been verified by the cruise ship operator as fully vaccinated prior to sailing, the CDC said.
CDC Releases Instructions for Trial Voyages in Path to Service Resumption May 05, 2021
The U.S. Centers for Disease for Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the next two phases of the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) for cruise ships operating or seeking to operate in U.S. waters.
The CDC has published technical instructions for cruise ship operators preparing to conduct simulated voyages in advance of restricted passenger voyages under a COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate. CDC expects to quickly approve applications that are both complete and accurate, the agency said.
The guidelines are complex, and there is one key workaround: if 98 percent of crew are fully vaccinated and 95 percent of passengers are vaccinated, a cruise operator does not need to conduct simulated sailings.