The United States is now vaccinating an average of 2.5 million people per day — many of whom have been cooped up at home for the better part of a year and are dreaming of the vacations they didn’t get to take in 2020.
This begs the question: what do we need to know about travel after the vaccine, and as we hopefully move into a post-pandemic phase?
Where we were one year ago: COVID restrictions
Going forward: Some travel restrictions remain
Not all public health experts are as cautious as Dr. Walensky, especially for those who have been fully vaccinated.
“The travel itself is very low risk,” Dr. Leana Wen told the Wall Street Journal. “If they follow precautions like wearing a mask, the risk of them contracting the coronavirus and passing it on to the rest of the family is extremely low and the benefit is huge. People are eager to see their families.”
Tara Kirk Sell, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, concurs. “Right at this at this very minute, the CDC is still saying that travel isn’t recommended because cases are high,” she told the Washington Post. “But I expect this summer, as cases come down and vaccinations go up, I think it’s probably safe to fly.”
This is good news for people like West Virginia mom Melissa Smallwood, who is fully vaccinated and planning to fly this fall to Colorado to meet an aunt she recently discovered on Ancestry DNA.
“I will still wear a mask and follow guidelines and we will be staying in other than hiking/outdoor activities that are in my comfort zone. I do feel safer knowing I’m vaccinated,” Melissa told Mom.com.
But California mother of two Emmie Johnson is not ready to pack up and go somewhere. “I’m reticent,” she admitted to Mom.com. “Three of the four of us will be vaccinated by summer. The one who is unvaxxed won’t be age eligible yet.”
And the experts agree that until kids can be vaccinated, families will need to make some hard decisions with any travel plans. Last year’s family road trips and self-contained camping trips are still relatively safe. And wherever anyone goes — vaccinated or not — hygiene, social distancing, and masking are still advised.
“I have always said you’ll never regret being too cautious during this pandemic,” Cleveland Clinic medicine specialist Joseph Khabbaza told the Washington Post. “All I see and hear about is regret and guilt from the people who may have let their guard down or veered away from their usual precautions.”
