To assume families with children too young to be vaccinated won’t be able to holiday overseas for years?

[ohcarolina2001]

So various countries are welcoming vaccinated people. By autumn my partner and I should both have had both vaccines, but our 1 year old DD is not eligible for a vaccine and by the time all the trials etc have been done on progressively younger people, we are years away from her being vaccinated. AIBU to assume we can’t take her on her first overseas holiday any time soon, because there is no exemption for unvaccinated children who can of course still spread Covid-19?

The only possibility I can see is going to a country which doesn’t require anyone to be vaccinated - but surely these destinations are a much riskier prospect (with an unvaccinated toddler licking everything and no vaccine 100% effective anyway).

Looking at holiday websites, most package holidays seem to be sold out for autumn already. These can’t all have been bought by couples without kids and older couples with adult children, surely? Have families with kids who won’t be vaccinated booked too and are hoping for positive news that kids will be exempt from the requirement to have their vaccines before entry?

I normally travel for work frequently in Europe some trips for a few days/week but often just for the day. I cancelled 3 work trips in Feb last year due to virus concerns and have not left the uk since Jan last year.

I have no intention of taking a holiday/ short work trip this year unless the vaccine rollout has increased dramatically in Europe to a position where 70% have had first dose.

@Racoonworld - I think you misunderstood me, neither dh, myself or baby ds will have had any dose of any vaccine by this summer. Nothing to do with 1-2 doses. They simply aren’t vaccinating adults under 50 at all here and def no children. So far it’s only those over 80 still here or sick or medical jobs. I literally know of 2 people who have been vaccinated ( one 90 in residential care, one 40 and a nurse).

There arent enough vaccines here. They have said that those under 50 prob aren’t even on the list to ever vaccinate, so the idea of vaccine passport is hilarious. What everyone in uk will have a passport, to go on holiday to Europe where hardly anyone will be vaccinated anyway. Again, if the boarders are open in September we will try and fly back to the uk. It’s not a nice sunny holiday, it much more likely to be colder and wetter in England than where we live!

I am hoping that Europe cracks on with vaccinations as I'd dearly love to see my sister, but it looks like that might be a while away.

A paediatric vaccine programme should be rolled out from the end of the year, so for people wanting to travel (as long as there are no vacvine supply issues!) it shouldn't be too long.

I've booked for September 2022. DD will be 5 and unborn child will be 16 months. I'm hoping that it all goes ahead and they won't ban us for the dc not being vaccinated. All the adults will be. My parents and dh are all waiting on 2nd dose. I'm waiting till after baby is here to get mine.

I think its a combination of bookings carried across from last year, reduced flight schedules and people being willing to just take a punt.

It isn't really for anyone to stipulate whether someone else should want to travel abroad or not, if its allowed then go for it.

And yes my 1 year old won’t care about travel. But it would be nice if he gets to meet my mother before she passes, she’s been given 1-2 years max. if Covid hadn’t happened she would have seen him at 2 months as had a month booked here, and she wasn’t diagnosed until he was 6 months old. We would also had been back every 2-3 months as per usual.

I've booked to go to Greece in September with DC

@HeartsAndClubs

As for people feeling depressed that they can’t travel abroad, how about holidaying in the UK and helping out our own economy before flitting off somewhere else.

Because it will rain. Lincolnshire for us this year and we'll be taking our winter rain gear for late June.

@HalfGalHalfCake

I'm looking forward to a couple of years of holidays without screaming kids ruining it

Same here.

The thing is, Corona virus is still going to eb around at much higher levels in all the countries you want to visit than the UK (at that point, as I think levels continue to drop due to large numbers vaccinated)

So why would this yearbe a good year to take a 1 year old to a place where she is much more exposed than here?

The other alternative is the ferries, as it doesn't look like they are checking those in the same way the plane travellers are being checked, so unvaccinated children may be allowed to travel that way.

Those saying travel isnt essential would think differently if they owned a hotel/restaurant on the Costa brava/worked for an airline. It's not just about personal experience, travel is a huge industry, essential to economies, and in fact in some parts of the world is it's only economy, that's on its knees.

So annoying that there are already judgey pants on here who think anyone travelling this year shouldn't. If we are allowed then why the hell not?

I work in a job which is very, very heavily affected by travel restrictions - we are lucky to have made it through without going under. Even so, I have booked an October holiday in the UK and don't expect to take DC abroad until perhaps May half term 2022. I may travel myself for work towards the end of the year but will
keep it to a minimum. Hoping all will be more 'normal' by next summer (and I speak from a position of reasonable information). But for those who want to travel earlier, a negative test will be accepted instead of vaccinations for most countries, for children at least.

I haven’t seen my teenage daughter for 18 months who lives alone abroad. It’s certainly depressing.

@HeartsAndClubs

For all of you proclaiming that travel isn’t a necessity - assume you don’t have family abroad who might actually want to see said children at some point? It annoys me that travel is so blithely written off as being indulgent holidays only. Honestly? This is something people need to consider when they move abroad. Currently people take it as a given that they can travel here there and everywhere whenever they choose, but actually that may not always be the case, and when people emigrate they should factor whether they are prepared to potentially not see family for years or potentially ever again if they do so into the decision process.

I grew up abroad and we didn’t see extended family for years.

One family member died within two years of us coming back, but if we’d still lived abroad we wouldn’t have seen him again.

I didn’t know my grandparents growing up. FaceTime wasn’t a thing and I saw both my grandmothers only once between the ages of 9 and 18.

Now people have the ability to travel but they take it for granted. Because nothing is guaranteed, as people are now discovering, and as people are now experiencing this it needs to be something which people give serious consideration to if they’re planning to go and live abroad and away from family.

Your comment smacks of "Well we managed so everyone else should as well" Kindly explain to me what you'd like me and DH to have done. He's from the UK, I'm from continental Europe. No matter where we had decided to live we'd always have been in a different country than some family. Maybe I should have anticipated the impact a pandemic would have when I fell in love...

Since there were exemptions in place for children re testing for travel (for instance to go/go back to France the under 5 I think were exempt from the PCR test requirement) I imagine there will be exemptions re children and vaccine certainly until we have one available.

Personally I hope there won't be any vaccine requirement to travel abroad and I plan to go see my family in France this summer. We have 4 kids and not likely to be called for the vaccine anytime soon (at which point I'll decide if I have it. I know DH will have it). But let's see.

We also have to take into account the fact that covid is now much better understood and treated than before. It may be that we can keep it under control with vulnerable people being vaccinated and early and proper treatment for those catching it.

As for the "you moved abroad you should have planned a pandemic" or "I've not seen my extended family for years and I'm fine' - well buzz off :) I want to see my parents and my 95yrs old grandmother so if I can travel I certainly will. My parents have come to see us quite a few times in the past year actually, coming whenever it was allowed which was quite a lot and we're grateful for it as are our children.

The vaccines are being tested on children at the moment with a view to them being vaccinated next winter or early 2022, so it's not going to be years.

^^
This is what i came on to say. We vaccinate kids against everything else, why wouldn’t we do this?

Also I agree that’s where holiday companies make their money - the captive audience of families with kids in the school holidays.

HalfGalHalfCake
I'm looking forward to a couple of years of holidays without screaming kids ruining it
Same here.

^^
Sorry this is a shitty attitude. It’s horrible to wish for restrictions on other people and not you, just because you don’t want them there.

You can always go to an adults only resort if kids bother you.

There will be other systems in place for people who are nit vaccinated, for the simple reason that, on MEDICAL grounds, nit everyone can be vaccinated. That’s people who are too young like children but other people too.

@HalfGalHalfCake, I assume you’ve never been one of the screaming kids then. You were just one of those who were there to be seen but not heard so never made noise, were never in the way of adults in any shape or form etc..

You’ll have to explain how you managed to arrive in the earth as a fully fledge adult.

I won't be going to any country in the EU any time soon after their disgraceful behaviour over the AZ vaccine. I don't want to get on a plane either.

Is this likely?

Many people are booking atm

I'm looking forward to a couple of years of holidays without screaming kids ruining it
Same here.

Just book adult only. Easy

Of course people will still be allowed to travel just like they did last summer.
Isn’t this the point of vaccination to return to normal life?
Isn’t that the point those who can get a vaccine to protect those who cannot whether they are exempt due to medical or age reasons?

Fwiw, I’m cev and exempt from the vaccine until my consultants clear me. As soon as I’m physically able to I’m off for some heat and sun. My body needs it to reduce pain and discomfort.

The economic implications of stopping what is a huge market for tourism being able to travel is immense. The travel industry will want to kick start as soon as it can (and we had travel abroad last summer)

I fully expect it to be a negative PCR test (and I think even if vaccinated you should as well as it doesnt completely prevent transmission) and one suspects you could have the same at this end another test here before going back in.

THe summer will be interesting - I am not sure how much things can survive in the longer term without travel being allowed so I think GOvernments will do all they can to get it started - and a big part of that summer is the fact it is school holidays