To be a bit jealous of over 50 holiday bookings

[Toomuch2019]

I probably am but here goes

I was reading an article about surges in over 50s holiday bookings driven by the fact that they are anticipating getting vaccinated soon.

And I'm finding myself incredibly envious that there is a subset of the population that will be able to go about living normally and going abroad while the rest of us are locked away waiting for a vaccine.

I don't feel like I can plan anything holiday wise at least abroad right now as there is no timeline on vaccines for under 50s and I don't want to risk getting ill in another country. Particularly if insurances will only cover vaccinated people (which isn't the case yet but can see it moving in that direction).

I know there is no answer and obviously I'm not arguing vaccines aren't in right order but does anyone else feel wound up with articles like this rubbing it in?

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-55654127

I don't think there will a situation where older vaccinated people have freedoms that younger low risk people don't. It would be hugely unfair and cause a lot of resented and any restrictions on young people (obviously barring things like vaccination passports for travel which you couldn't do much about) would be largely ignored if that was the case.

I do think this may apply in say a year when every adult has been offered a vaccination, those who have chosen not to be vaccinated (or cannot have one for medical reasons etc.) may not have the same freedoms as everyone else.

I know it sounds mean but I also feel jealous about all these people getting the vaccine

Why? They are getting it first because they are old and/or extremely vulnerable. Do you wish you were over 80? Do you envy those who have very serious health conditions?

I read a fascinating Twitter piece yesterday by a scientist who was explaining that it’s likely that it’ll still be transmissible by mucus in the nose and eyes etc, as the vaccines create a different type of immunity. That’s badly paraphrased, but it was a really good read.

Unless I’ve missed something, I’ve seen no suggestions that people who are vaccinated will be allowed to do more. They may be less likely to get severely ill, but they can still spread it.

I think you’d create anarchy if everyone has to stay inside to protect older people; which is the rhetoric most people have accepted, and then the older people get more freedoms.

MIL seems to think they’ll be allowed to visit when they’re vaccinated, and we can meet up. I have no idea where she’s got it from but DH & I are far down the pecking list; that calculator suggested I’d be offered a dose in December.

@Fuckety

It’s definitely going to wind a lot of people up. Especially as it’s the over 50’s that we’ve been in lockdown for as they are the most vulnerable and as yet there is little evidence that the vaccine prevents transmission.

You’ll be accused of wishing the elderly dead though within a few posts for mentioning it though.

Fuck off! you HAVEN'T stayed home to protect the over 50's and the vulnerable. THEY have stayed home so as not to overwhelm the NHS by catching covid and taking up a the ICU beds so that hospitals have capacity for YOU

Both DH and I are over 50. Still got a DC at school. We're not going anywhere soon! Especially as neither of our Mums (both in their 80s) haven't been vaccinated yet...

It’s definitely going to wind a lot of people up. Especially as it’s the over 50’s that we’ve been in lockdown for

You’ve not been in lockdown for me. You’ve been in lockdown for everyone. I haven’t once broken a rule, neither has DH, or PILs, or my parents. We see the reality of Covid on a daily basis because DS2 is a nurse and is right on the frontline. He’s doing extra shifts in ITU and about to start a new job in critical care. DS1 is in the army and being deployed today, for the second time, to help with the testing. Our poor DDIL is also a nurse. She’s in utter turmoil over what she’s seen and had to deal with. So you can take your ageist bollocks and shove it, frankly.

I seriously don't think that countries are going to bar entry to swathes of under fifties during:

A) the off season for respiratory illness
B) the only chance they have to make income
C) by taking bookings from ages groups staggeringly unlikely to suffer from covid (and I HAVE long covid, I know it exists)

Anyone who grew up in a tourist economy would tell you you were barking for thinking they only want the over-50s coming and spending. Holiday prices don't increase in the summer they reduce in the winter to keep things ticking over. They are desperate for income.

And did NOBODY on this thread take a foreign holiday last year? I had ten days in Turkey in September, it was bliss.

Fuck off! you HAVEN'T stayed home to protect the over 50's and the vulnerable. THEY have stayed home so as not to overwhelm the NHS by catching covid and taking up a the ICU beds so that hospitals have capacity for YOU

So why does that poster have to stay home too then? I think it's wrong to pitch people against each other like this but I also think it's absurd to pretend that low-risk people haven't been asked to make sacrifices largely for others, while high-risk people have been asked to protect themselves and that that's quite a big difference.

TUI, the UK's largest tour operator, says 50% of bookings on their website are currently by over-50s
...So the other 50% are booked by under 50s!!
It doesnt seem unreasonable that 50% are for over 50s especially as that includes people of retirement age,(who could theoretically take more holidays as not tied by annual leave) and a large % of people who are not tied by school holidays

So why does that poster have to stay home too then?

Because we all have a part to play. ITU’s across the country are full of patients under 50 with Covid but have no underlying health conditions.

I’ve booked a week in the U.K. for June. For myself and several other family members from different households. I’m desperate for this to go ahead.

We also have a large group family holiday in Europe booked for August. I’m much less confident about that.

But a little bit of hope and something to look forward to? The travel bans, when lifted, won’t apply to those who are vaccinated only- how can you prove one way or the other? No certificate is being issued. The restrictions will be lifted when the virus is well contained and a proportion of the most vulnerable groups are vaccinated.

Last holiday abroad was 2010, and that was to see my sister in Belgium.

Coach and tour operators have seen an unexpected growth in bookings in the last fortnight. I think the article is a bit of a puff piece from a beleaguered industry. Unexpected growth in booking could be 20 pensioners getting ahead of themselves and booking a coach trip to Bognor and not indicative of most people over 50.

Who are all these over 50s on the brink of getting the vaccine? My elderly 85 year old CEV father hasn’t heard a word about getting it yet and the best case for an “elderly” 53 year old like me is July. I don’t know anyone of any age who plans to jet off somewhere on that basis.

it’s the over 50s we’ve been in lockdown for not quite right 🙄.

@TheFallenMadonna I don't think there will be a gap between 50s and 40s being vaccinated exactly. I suppose what worried me is that they have not said the order of vaccinating under 50s. It could be all keyworkers first ( in which case I'll have an extremely long wait), or down in increments of 5 years ( not as bad for me), or by health risks ie those who are obese or with high blood pressure.

I also worry that the momentum for vaccination might reduce once the most at risk are done and the NHS isn't so strained. There could be a point where the govt says we have to focus on cancer, mental health, all the things that have been ignored for so long rather than use 90% of our energy to vaccinate those that aren't at such risk.

@Fuckety

It’s definitely going to wind a lot of people up. Especially as it’s the over 50’s that we’ve been in lockdown for as they are the most vulnerable and as yet there is little evidence that the vaccine prevents transmission.

You’ll be accused of wishing the elderly dead though within a few posts for mentioning it though.

That's a bit of a sweeping statement - how many NHS workers are over 50 and going to work helping patients since the start of the pandemic. How many over 50's have been manning supermarkets, how many over 50's have been keeping our water, electric, tv going. If it wasn't for the over 50's in the workforce we'd all be dead by now.

I'm 51 and a care worker so no lock down for me.

I've booked a holiday and I'm only 35!

I dont expect to be offered the vaccine this year, I imagine it will be like the flu jab, corporate employers may offer it to staff routinely but the NHS won't fund it routinely for young low risk people.

The rates of severe illness & death are very very low in people my age with my health profile, so I don't expect them to take a different approach to the one they take with flu. I dont expect there to be restrictions on young unvaccinated people this summer.

Other than going where I can, i should have said.

They are deluded.

The vaccine so far shows no hint of stopping people from infecting others. Just that when they bet covid it won't be as bad.

Airlines wont want a proof of the vaccination before flying but a negative covid test.
Countries might well still ask to self isolate n arrival. As the UK asks all travellers to do atm.

Fuck off! you HAVEN'T stayed home to protect the over 50's and the vulnerable. THEY have stayed home so as not to overwhelm the NHS by catching covid and taking up a the ICU beds so that hospitals have capacity for YOU

No need to be offensive. And they've stayed at home (if they've stayed at home, which many haven't, much to the chagrin of some MNers - how dare a 70 year old buy a newspaper etc) to protect themselves, not for altruistic reasons.

Also, as I am 48, I find it a bit laughable that people on here genuinely think that the over 50s are elderly and generally vulnerable.

I’m in my fifties (just) and in the process of booking a couple of holidays for later in the year, if they get cancelled then they get cancelled. Surely this is no different to a younger person booking a trip?

Yes, and despite saying they would not do so, the government are looking at issuing vaccination certificates/passports so people can take their summer hols abroad. Seems a bit premature when there is no evidence that the vaccines prevent transmission, so there is a risk of new variants being brought into the country again (Spain, South Africa, Brazil...).
Not to mention the inequalities that creates in society.

I'm in my 50s and have cancer. I'm not being offered the vaccination any time soon, so I don't know where you got your information from tbh.

The article just wants to wind people up and it is!

My DH is over 50 and we have a 9 year old. He isn't some elderly frail man. He works in a high stress job while trying to homeschool alongside me!

Stop letting the media feed on the less nicer parts of your personality.