Coronavirus and Walt Disney World general discussion

[havoc315]

Now the pandemic will never end soon thanks to new variants....

If vaccinations get ahead of new variants, it ends.

Even more likely — while variants can become more dangerous, They can also eventually become less dangerous. So you can get to a point in time where less dangerous variants are dominant, and catching Covid becomes like catching a cold.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Now the pandemic will never end soon thanks to new variants....

It’ll end eventually...eventually we will just move on, even if there are variants. We won’t keep closing schools and keeping businesses shuttered. I hope it never comes to “we just need to accept that people will die,” but that would eventually happen if this doesn’t resolve itself. However, I don’t actually think that will happen in America. We have always had contagious viruses to contend with and we have particularly strong vaccines now.

 

[DisneyCane]

Just wondering, has anyone seen recent polling on vaccine acceptance vs. hesitancy broken down by age groups? We know the political breakdown (which shall not be mentioned here again!), but it might be enlightening to see if there are any significant gaps between age demographics. Especially now that many states are reporting vaccine rates in the high 80%s for seniors.

I think it is harder to poll because my sense is that the younger demographics aren't necessarily hesitant, they just aren't very motivated. They don't feel at risk from COVID and no matter how many times it is posted that young people are filling up hospitals, the fact is that they aren't individually at very much risk. Therefore, there needs to be something to motivate them to want to go through the hassle and potential side effects of getting vaccinated.

The side effects that some have (like my wife and Mom) after the second shot are worse than the symptoms of COVID would be for a large percentage of people under 30. Therefore, they need some kind of reward for getting vaccinated.

 

[Nubs70]

The question is what is easier for the average person to obtain, a vaccine appointment or a BG for RotR?

I got a BG following the advice found here.

I was at the join queue screen at 6:58. As soon as my phones clock turned to 7:00, I mashed the join button.

 

[DCBaker]

"The U.S. drug regulator gave Moderna Inc clearance to speed up output of its COVID-19 vaccine by letting it fill a single vial with up to 15 doses, with the United States banking on rapid immunisation to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also authorized vaccinators to extract a maximum of 11 doses from the current vials, instead of the ten previously permitted.

In a statement, Moderna said its vaccine can now can be supplied in vials containing 11 or 15 doses, and it expected to begin shipping 15-dose vials in coming weeks."

“Both of these revisions positively impact the supply of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, which will help provide more vaccine doses to communities and allow shots to get into arms more quickly,” Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said.

However, the regulator also warned that without proper syringes and needles it may not be possible to extract more that 13 doses from Moderna’s 15 dose vials, and more than 10 doses from the current vials."

Moderna gets nod to speed up virus vaccine output with bigger vials

(Reuters) -The U.S. drug regulator gave Moderna Inc clearance to speed up output of its COVID-19 vaccine by letting it fill a single vial with up to 15 doses, with the United States banking on rapid immunisation to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

www.reuters.com

 

[DisneyCane]

Definitely good news!

Article below from the NYT -

"Americans who are fully vaccinated can travel “at low risk to themselves,” both within the United States and internationally, but they must continue to take precautions like wearing a mask in public, avoiding crowds, maintaining social distancing and washing hands frequently, federal health officials said on Friday.

Vaccinated Americans do not need to get a coronavirus test before arriving in another country, unless required to do so by authorities at the destination, and they do not need to quarantine after returning to the United States unless required to do so by local jurisdictions, according to new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But vaccinated travelers should have a negative result from a coronavirus test before boarding a flight back to the United States, and they should get tested against three to five days after their return home. The recommendation is predicated on the idea that vaccinated people may still be infected with the virus.

People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two weeks after receiving the second dose of the two-dose regimen from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna."

Vaccinated Americans are at low risk while traveling but must still wear masks, the C.D.C. says. (Published 2021)

They must continue to take precautions like wearing a mask in public, avoiding crowds, maintaining social distancing and washing hands frequently, federal health officials said on Friday.

www.nytimes.com

Their guidelines continue to not incentivize people to get vaccinated. Basically, for domestic travel they say if you are fully vaccinated you must continue to do all the mitigation you did before but now we are saying it is "safe" for you to travel. The only difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated is that for the unvaccinated they say you are supposed to quarantine for seven days after travel and get a COVID test 3-5 days after travel. The percentage of people that will do both of those things can probably be represented with one hand. Maybe hands and feet would be needed for the percentage that will get a test.

There needs to be a big carrot to motivate people to be vaccinated. Many people (🖐) have been traveling unvaccinated for months. Nothing really changes if you get vaccinated.

 

[Turtlekrawl]

However, the regulator also warned that without proper syringes and needles it may not be possible to extract more that 13 doses from Moderna’s 15 dose vials, and more than 10 doses from the current vials."

This is a real thing. “Regular” syringes have some dead space that retains and wastes some medication. The low dead-space syringes are in short supply, so cannot maximize the efficiency of each vial of vaccine without them. Actually, even regular syringes are in short supply in some areas. Our hospital in IL cannot get any 3-5 mL syringes at the moment, and we are using 10-20 mL syringes to give sometimes 1mL of medication. Tough to be precise in these cases.

I’m generally not to critical of the national covid response. But seriously, we should have seen this coming. Tons of effort went into vaccine development and distribution, but not enough went toward expanding production of syringes. It should be a quick fix to ramp up, but still sad that this might slow us down even a little bit.

 

[oceanbreeze77]

With the news of travel today, I am getting convinced that the data on just HOW GOOD the vaccines are is there, but they dont want to say anything that will delay the process.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

...... I'm expecting to see indications of Disney planning increased operational capacity right after Easter. Let the Easter crowd pass.... Then put the wheels in motion for greater attendance by late Spring. More hotel and restaurant staff returning, a bit more entertainment returning. Announcement of summer discounts based on anticipated occupancy rates.

As of now, there have been no publicly available indications of Disney making any significant efforts to increase operational capacity. (lots of hotels and restaurants still without re-opening dates. Outside of FOTLK, no signs of entertainment staff being brought back.)

It’s a logjam now at 35-40 % capacity. With distancing the lines stretch everywhere. I know they aren’t as long as they look because of the distancing but many are hitting the 45 minute to hour and more. With the spring breakers and the parks at max a lot it’s way longer then that. If crowds are increased, let’s say to 50 %, it will be unbearable. Out of the last 10 families to travel their through my wife, 3 families said it was enjoyable, the other 7 families said it was a mistake to go. Increase capacity more without some major changes in distancing and some sort of FP to get people in all areas of the parks, not going to be good.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

I have had a revelation after my 2nd Covid shot on how WDW and Covid vaccination experience.

I was at WDW last week so here it goes. WDW and the vaccination center are similar, in that:

1. Both have long lines
2. Both have markers in 6ft intervals
3. Everyone is wearing masks
4. Noone talks to each other
5. A solitary experience in the midst of a large amount of people

But did they offer you to buy a magical cupcake?

 

[Nubs70]

It’s a logjam now at 35-40 % capacity. With distancing the lines stretch everywhere. I know they aren’t as long as they look because of the distancing but many are hitting the 45 minute to hour and more. With the spring breakers and the parks at max a lot it’s way longer then that. If crowds are increased, let’s say to 50 %, it will be unbearable. Out of the last 10 families to travel their through my wife, 3 families said it was enjoyable, the other 7 families said it was a mistake to go. Increase capacity more without some major changes in distancing and some sort of FP to get people in all areas of the parks, not going to be good.

Absolutely agree 100%

 

[GhostHost1000]

So our CDC says we can travel after being vaccinated. I never stopped traveling because I thought masks and social distancing were the safe thing but ok.

if you want more to get the shot, say those who are fully vaccinated can remove masks and don’t need to social distance

 

[GoofGoof]

"The U.S. drug regulator gave Moderna Inc clearance to speed up output of its COVID-19 vaccine by letting it fill a single vial with up to 15 doses, with the United States banking on rapid immunisation to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also authorized vaccinators to extract a maximum of 11 doses from the current vials, instead of the ten previously permitted.

In a statement, Moderna said its vaccine can now can be supplied in vials containing 11 or 15 doses, and it expected to begin shipping 15-dose vials in coming weeks."

“Both of these revisions positively impact the supply of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, which will help provide more vaccine doses to communities and allow shots to get into arms more quickly,” Peter Marks, director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said.

However, the regulator also warned that without proper syringes and needles it may not be possible to extract more that 13 doses from Moderna’s 15 dose vials, and more than 10 doses from the current vials."

Moderna gets nod to speed up virus vaccine output with bigger vials

(Reuters) -The U.S. drug regulator gave Moderna Inc clearance to speed up output of its COVID-19 vaccine by letting it fill a single vial with up to 15 doses, with the United States banking on rapid immunisation to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

www.reuters.com

Great news. I was waiting for this to be approved. That ramps up Moderna doses by 30-50% and they were already delivering at a pace exceeding 50M doses a month . Their increase along with additional increases Pfizer said they are expecting should more than make up for the doses of JnJ that were destroyed and their set back. We should be able to keep up with the goal of having enough doses for every adult at some point in the middle of May.

Some time in the next few weeks the states probably need to think about reserving some of the Pfizer doses for kids 12-17 since they are only eligible for Pfizer. The amendment to the EUA for the 12-15 trial should be done by the end of April so we should hit the ground running on kids 12-17. That’s 30M additional Americans so likely 40-50M doses need to fully cover the ones who want it. It would be great to see at least the older kids be able to get back to some version of normal life too. It will be too late in most places for the end of the school year, but graduations, graduation parties, summer jobs and just general fun could be back on the table for most teens.

 

[danlb_2000]

Their guidelines continue to not incentivize people to get vaccinated. Basically, for domestic travel they say if you are fully vaccinated you must continue to do all the mitigation you did before but now we are saying it is "safe" for you to travel. The only difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated is that for the unvaccinated they say you are supposed to quarantine for seven days after travel and get a COVID test 3-5 days after travel. The percentage of people that will do both of those things can probably be represented with one hand. Maybe hands and feet would be needed for the percentage that will get a test.

There needs to be a big carrot to motivate people to be vaccinated. Many people (🖐) have been traveling unvaccinated for months. Nothing really changes if you get vaccinated.

People may not do the quarantine if it's totally up to them, but your employer may require you to do that.

People have not been following a lot of CDC guidelines which makes it harder to incentivize people to get vaccinated just to they can "officially" do something they are already doing.

 

[danlb_2000]

So our CDC says we can travel after being vaccinated. I never stopped traveling because I thought masks and social distancing were the safe thing but ok.

if you want more to get the shot, say those who are fully vaccinated can remove masks and don’t need to social distance

There is not such thing as absolute "safe", just different degrees of safe. Masks and social distancing make things safer, but travel inherently puts you in situations that increase the chance of infection. The benefit to the new guidance is that you employer may allow you to return to work without a quarantine period.

If you are vaccinated and you are in a situation where you know people close to you are vaccinated or low risk, then you can remove masks and social distancing. Until a lot more people get vaccinated it's hard to lift that restriction in places where the vaccinated and un-vaccinated mix.

 

[GhostHost1000]

There is not such thing as absolute "safe", just different degrees of safe. Masks and social distancing make things safer, but travel inherently puts you in situations that increase the chance of infection. The benefit to the new guidance is that you employer may allow you to return to work without a quarantine period.

If you are vaccinated and you are in a situation where you know people close to you are vaccinated or low risk, then you can remove masks and social distancing. Until a lot more people get vaccinated it's hard to lift that restriction in places where the vaccinated and un-vaccinated mix.

That’s the thing tho covid isn’t likely ever going away 100% and there will never be an absolute safe, so the feeling from many is if we still have to mask social distant and things aren’t normal again then it doesn’t have as much interest as it would if they said get the shot and then you can live normal again

 

[SamusAranX]

I think it is harder to poll because my sense is that the younger demographics aren't necessarily hesitant, they just aren't very motivated. They don't feel at risk from COVID and no matter how many times it is posted that young people are filling up hospitals, the fact is that they aren't individually at very much risk. Therefore, there needs to be something to motivate them to want to go through the hassle and potential side effects of getting vaccinated.

The side effects that some have (like my wife and Mom) after the second shot are worse than the symptoms of COVID would be for a large percentage of people under 30. Therefore, they need some kind of reward for getting vaccinated.

I agree with you to an extent; but I think it's simple. I want to go back to normal. But so many have been living as if there hasn't been a pandemic, they don't have that as an incentive either, excluding if they ever want to take a cruise, go to a concert, or fly overseas again. Other then that, youths have been throwing large parties, indoors alot, still going to bars, etc. as if all is well. And while it is their choice, if they don't see a difference in their current life vs. pre-pandemic, minus the activities i mentioned above that are still shut down....they won't care.

 

[GoofGoof]

So our CDC says we can travel after being vaccinated. I never stopped traveling because I thought masks and social distancing were the safe thing but ok.

if you want more to get the shot, say those who are fully vaccinated can remove masks and don’t need to social distance

I agree with this, and I think it will come, I just think they are waiting until more people are vaccinated and more importantly waiting for everyone to be eligible. I think it would create a bit of chaos today, especially in places where appointments are still scarce.

One issue is it’s difficult to know who is vaccinated and who isn’t so it’s hard to enforce that rule for public places. However, I think they should implement it for employers for sure. If you work in an office or a factory or at WDW if you are vaccinated you don’t need to worry about masks or distancing. If you are not vaccinated you still need to do both. Let employers enforce the rules. You don’t comply you are fired. You want the exemption you show proof f vaccination, you don‘t want to get vaccinated or you are but don’t want to share that with your employer due to privacy concerns than wear a mask and distance. Nobody is forced to do anything.

For a public place like a supermarket or WDW you could still make that the “rule” but leave it up to businesses to enforce. For a place like Disney I would be fine with making the rule proof of vaccination or show a negative test and you are exempt from the mask rule. They could check for proof at the gate on the way in or have guests preregistration through my Disney experience. No proof, put your mask on. You could give people stickers or a wrist band to wear that exempts them from the mask rules. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t be glad to wear a sticker or wrist band and not need to wear a mask. CMs would just have to gently remind those without wrist bands that they need to put their masks on and enforce it like they do today. Problem solved.

 

[Mark52479]

Executive order just signed in Florida banning Vaccine Passports.

I don't think Disney was ever planning on using one.

IF anything they will use rapid testing in the future.

 

[SamusAranX]

Their guidelines continue to not incentivize people to get vaccinated. Basically, for domestic travel they say if you are fully vaccinated you must continue to do all the mitigation you did before but now we are saying it is "safe" for you to travel. The only difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated is that for the unvaccinated they say you are supposed to quarantine for seven days after travel and get a COVID test 3-5 days after travel. The percentage of people that will do both of those things can probably be represented with one hand. Maybe hands and feet would be needed for the percentage that will get a test.

There needs to be a big carrot to motivate people to be vaccinated. Many people (🖐) have been traveling unvaccinated for months. Nothing really changes if you get vaccinated.

I traveled in January but quarantined ten days before, and got tested upon arriving home. It was worth it to me. But it will be nice not to have to do that. Eventually I hope to have no masks for the vaccinated.