Some cruise passengers, including some close to sailing, have just been told that their vaccinations don’t count and they will be treated as unvaccinated. The affected passengers had two-dose shots, but with different vaccines.
Just when you think the cruise industry is really sailing back into view, despite the ongoing spat among CDC, the state of Florida and cruise operators, another factor turns up to throw things back into confusion.
This time the issue is over what vaccinations are valid and where, and it mainly involves cruises sailing from the U.S., and it apparently involves an issue with CDC’s insistence on only accepting vaccines that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson and Johnson.
That leaves out those who have had the AstraZeneca vaccine that was approved and widely used in the UK and Europe, and has been used in Canada as well. Due to occasional shortages of AstraZeneca and some worries about side effects, many European governments and Canada have shifted to the other vaccines for second doses.
And then it gets more confusing, as some cruise lines will accept mixed vaccines as long as they are the same type, either vector or mRNA. Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines; Carnival’s brands including Holland America and Princess will accept that combination, but not one that includes a vector vaccine like AZ. NCL, on the other hand, says that no mixing is acceptable.
Sounds like it’s time for a clear statement—but who’s to make it?
