Aibu to feel a little miffed (re 'vaccine passports')

[NotPennysBoat]

I'm a healthy 40yo with young children. Elderly but otherwise healthy parents, no otherwise vulnerable close family members. We've spent the last 11 months following all the guidelines and putting our lives on hold, my kids have lost many months of education and we have struggled financially. All for the greater good and happy to do that (mostly).

Now the vulnerable groups are being vaccinated (yay!), and I'm reading about vaccine passports to enable them more freedoms and the ability to travel abroad.

AIBU to be feeling miffed that for all the sacrifices the non-vulnerable have made for others, we are now being penalised again while the elderly and vulnerable we've been protecting are booking their summer holidays??

@Doomsdayiscoming

Lots of salt for the OP. But if this becomes reality and the boomers jet off to Europe in July, then people will change their tune.

Small-minded selfish ageist people might, absolutely.

If my elderly parents are able to go on the holiday they missed out on last year, as part of enjoying the retirement they worked fucking hard for their entire lives (from the age of 15 in my father's case) while we're still shielding, I'll be genuinely delighted for them - and for anyone else on their plane. It's not a race to the bottom.

Who wants to go on holiday in a hot climate and be wearing a face mask the entire time?

My husband and I have had our first vaccines. We will NOT be travelling anywhere on lovely holidays, because we have common sense. There are a lot of us who are old but haven't lost our brains because of that. But thank you for staying home to protect us. We're staying home to protect all of us...and the NHS.

I live in a hot climate. We've been wearing masks all through this! (& quietly appalled at the U.K. resistance to doing so). It's fine. In fact, during sandstorms, it's rather handy & I suspect some of us will keep our masks for exactly that.

I live in a country hugely dependent on tourism, so I doubt we'll be demanding evidence of vaccination, although we are shit hot on negative testing.

Other countries will possibly require evidence of vaccination.

None of this prevents anyone leaving the U.K. It's just that wherever you'd like to go, might not want to let you in.

The whole notion of elderly vaxxed travellers merrily setting off around the world is nonsense.

It’s been awful for many people who have been shielding

How can anyone feel so resentful in thankful I haven’t had to shield sounds like utter misery

@Jaxhog

One thing I have noticed is how little sympathy those who have been vaccinated have for those who haven't or may not ever be.

Seriously? I've only heard gratitude. Remember, those who've been vaccinated are more likely to die of covid than you are. On the other hand, I've heard a lot of people less at risk brag about how they've been breaking the rules.

I didn't mention gratitude or risk. Those who have been vaccinated are clearly at most risk and are most deserving of their vaccines, and yes they are understandably grateful.

I only mentioned how some of them don't think about those who are not in the priority groups and perhaps (not always) lack tact, empathy, or as I said sympathy for others less fortunate (but obviously less at risk statistically).

I'll be pleased for my 80 something parents and their friends if they get to go on holiday this year, having been vaccinated. I don't see their gain as my loss, frankly I have the luxury of time (hopefully!) they don't.

Before anyone else jumps on me - all I mean is people who haven't been vaccinated or maybe won't be vaccinated under the current plans are not superhuman, have no guarantees either.

Tact and sensitivity is all that is required, and maybe empathy.

The 60+s on my SM have been marie antoinette'ing since day one & are now wondering why no one seems to be seeing their posts (because we've all unfollowed them). You don't want to hear winges about supermarket delivery priority systems when you can't get one yourself, hoards of online luxury shopping arriving when you're not on a secure income or 'woe is me, so bored' posts when you're trying to juggle working full time & home Ed. Thank goodness I've already blocked most of them because a barrage of 'holiday' posts would have sent me over the edge. I'm glad they're all safe but I wish they'd have the decency to at least acknowledge that other people have paid a very high price & perhaps exhibit a bit of tact/sensitivity.

@GarlicMonkey

The 60+s on my SM have been marie antoinette'ing since day one & are now wondering why no one seems to be seeing their posts (because we've all unfollowed them). You don't want to hear winges about supermarket delivery priority systems when you can't get one yourself, hoards of online luxury shopping arriving when you're not on a secure income or 'woe is me, so bored' posts when you're trying to juggle working full time & home Ed. Thank goodness I've already blocked most of them because a barrage of 'holiday' posts would have sent me over the edge. I'm glad they're all safe but I wish they'd have the decency to at least acknowledge that other people have paid a very high price & perhaps exhibit a bit of tact/sensitivity.

This.

I dont know anyone who is booking a holiday abroad. They keep saying they won't bring in vaccine passports, realistically it isnt fair to unless everyone has been offered the vaccine and by then cases would have dropped off for the summer anyway. Maybe next winter though I guess?

@Doomsdayiscoming

Lots of salt for the OP. But if this becomes reality and the boomers jet off to Europe in July, then people will change their tune.

Nice bit of ageism there. I fall within that age bracket and the holidays I have booked have been moved from last year. I hope to be vaccinated by the summer and also feel that other countries are entitled to impose whatever measures they see fit. Obviously I have no knowledge about whether that will happen but I resent being talked of in such a sneering tone. And yes, I do realise that my postponed holidays are a hope, not a priority in terms of wider society.

I couldn't help feeling jealous - so shoot me!

Well you did ask for it op,,,😂

On a serious note I’m not sure I buy elderly couples were discussing their vacations in front of you. I suspect you made that up to justify your position

Seriously it’s better to just own it.

Don’t worry, vaccine passports seem pretty unlikely.

I mean, half the places you might go are still going to have several restrictions still. Maybe September - you’ve got to realise that being ahead in a vaccine program isn’t going to be matched elsewhere!

And won’t you still have to get tested either side of your trip despite being vaccinated? Get to the airport x amount of hours before your flight, get tested, hang around waiting. Repeat on the other end.

Personally I can’t think of anything worse than lying on a beach in a facemask but each to their own!

I haven't seen the news story but if it is accurately posted by PP then yes yanbu and too be honest I'd feel the same!
Of course we were *protecting the nhs" but by default this meant stopping the vulnerable from catching covid as they were more likely to be seriously ill and need hospital treatment. If the uk population was all under 50 protecting the nhs wouldnt have been an issue.
People often give uni students and teenagers poor press but actually my teenagers have suffered more than me, they have made sacrifices
for their grandparents generation.

Of course we were protecting the nhs" but by default this meant stopping the vulnerable from catching covid as they were more likely to be seriously ill and need hospital treatment. If the uk population was all under 50 protecting the nhs wouldnt have been an issue.* you’re wrong. The majority of people now being checked into hospital are under 50 now.

Plenty of people now are becoming seriously ill and even dying without any underlying health conditions.

In the 1st wave the majority very much were the elderly.

Now they most definitely are not.

And, there hasn’t been a news story. Not from any reputable source anyway. There was a story that holiday bookings had increased in the over 50’s but bookings doesn’t mean actually going does it?

And I don’t think that the vulnerable were too resentful when people were eating out 3/4 times a week when we opened up in the summer and they were still vulnerable.

They surely can't do these passports until all the adult population has been offered the vaccine. I will be furious if those over 50 can jet off whilst the rest of us can't.

No one will be “jetting off” anywhere. We will be in Lockdown 4 soon enough

@WalrusWife

No one will be “jetting off” anywhere. We will be in Lockdown 4 soon enough

Why’s that then ?

One thing I have noticed is how little sympathy those who have been vaccinated have for those who haven't or may not ever be. well, everyone who hasn’t yet been vaccinated will be so I don’t quite get this need for sympathy there/ (and I haven’t been vaccinated yet and should be in group6 but told I’m not,)

Also, people might not yet be in a position to go abroad anyway, it’s not as if the restrictions have been lifted is it?

As for those who may never be vaccinated, those who cannot be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons would of course have an exemption when it comes to restrictions in this country. However we would be unable to force other countries to do the same.

As for people who will never have the vaccine because they choose not to have it, well, you make your choices in life you take the consequences, so no, I don’t have any sympathy for someone who chooses not to vaccinate.

As others have said it's nothing to do with the vulnerable and everything to do with stopped our over-worked, under-funded and unappreciated (by the government who have woefully underfunded it) NHS.

from being overwhelmed more than it has been anyway.

Thomasina2021 - wait and see. Life won’t be back to normal by summer and we will be in lockdown again by autumn.