KWofPerth

So the dreaded "cytokine storm" is treatable now? I hadn't heard that. Great news!

https://youtu.be/nucCr7Sywgc

This is not entirely true. The vaccines may in fact greatly reduce the chance of infection and transmission, however this has not yet been studied in depth, therefore the manufacturers are not permitted from making that claim. It is currently being studied in Phase IV trials (i.e. the real world). It is most likely that vaccinated individuals' viral loads are greatly diminished if they get infected, making it less likely they will pass the virus onto others. The more people in this situation (i.e. vaccinated) the less of the virus gets passed around over time. What we do know for certain, is that for those infected, having been vaccinated prevents severe Covid and death. I would say that's a pretty good point, regardless of 'getting it or giving it'.

What chance the 2021-22 season gets reconfigured to Australia cruises only? i.e. cruises up and down the east coast. Possibly NZ cruises could be added too if their rollout goes well and the much-vaunted travel bubble comes into effect? The Pacific Islands; no idea how their rollouts will go, and whether they will even want cruise ships lobbing on their doorstep just yet.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-02-05/covid-19-vaccines-do-they-prevent-coronavirus-transmission/13121348

Don't know about Allure, I can't recall one on my Quantum sailing FWIW, but there was one on Explorer as recently as October 2018. On Quantum, I simply paid for 24 hours worth of connection on my device. You don't need to buy a package for the whole trip.

I'll pre-emptively just leave this here https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-25/pfizer-vaccine-misinformation-on-safety-myth-busted/13089550

Why is that?

Singapore is one of the best places I have ever visited. Completely clean and as you say, it feels so safe. I look forward to returning someday soon, hopefully for another cruise!

It also makes sense, given we have similar Covid levels to Singapore. There would be a lot more political and general resistance to the idea though, until we are well down the path of vaccine rollout.

Just an interesting little article quoting the CLIA Australia director. It looks like the industry is eyeing off a return to cruising out of Queensland first, with shorter, local voyages similar to what's been happening in Singapore with Quantum. https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/health-safety/cruise-industry-says-successful-asian-voyages-during-pandemic-show-they-are-covidsafe/news-story/1657023578a2178eec2b8e77a48962d3

None of the measures are 100% protective, but when you start layering them together, you increase the overall protection.

This might help explain the difference between preventing infection and preventing disease, and why the prevention of infection is not essential to an effective vaccine... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-07/why-few-vaccines-prevent-infection/13037274

Because they weren't vaccinated?

Heart disease is the result of personal choices made consistently by an individual over several decades. Covid-19 is highly contagious and will take you out within a month, through no fault of your own.

I will defer to JeffB at this point, for his detailed explanation on the 5th page of this thread...

Covid19 is the disease that results from getting the coronavirus infection (SARS-Cov-2). At this stage it is unknown if being vaccinated prevents someone from spreading the infection. What is known is that it greatly reduces the likelihood of the virus progressing to the disease (Covid) stage.

I took issue with that post too, but chose not to respond at the time. At this point it is unknown whether the vaccine prevents transmission. I assume this is because there has not been enough time pass since its trials to make an accurate determination. The ongoing phase IV trial will presumably give us an answer to this. What we know that it does achieve, is provide a 95% likelihood of an infection not progressing to the covid19 disease. Apologies for my layman's description, JeffB and others feel free to tighten up some of my terminology and descriptions where appropriate.

"Don't believe me do a 5 min google search and find the truth your self." Truly a quote for our times.

No point arguing mate, she's "looked into it".

Thanks for the detailed response JeffB. This has answered some nagging queries I have had since Pfizer first announced its interim Phase III results. To summarise, we do not yet know if the vaccine will diminish an individual's ability to spread the virus, but in theory there is a strong likelihood that it will. And if so, this will reduce the virus' opportunities to replicate across the broader population, assuming we all take our shots.

OK, that makes sense actually. So what we don't know is if individuals can be asymptomatic spreaders before their immune system fights off the coronavirus that has just entered their system.

It could be a very LONG time before you cruise again, if ever.

Joe, do you have any insight into how long it will take to know whether a vaccine confers immunity from infection (as opposed to immunity from the disease once infected)? Or perhaps, how long until we know whether a vaccinated individual can still spread the virus if infected?