The CDC finally issued guidelines for those Americans who have been fully vaccinated. Non-essential travel is still discouraged though, so some of us will travel vicariously until it is deemed safe to board a plane.
We may have the Covid tiger by the tail, but there's a long way to go before the pandemic is under control. Photo:© Donald J. Rommes
When will we reach "herd immunity?"
At the time of this writing (March 9) about 9% of the American population has been fully vaccinated. Experts think that "herd immunity" will be reached when 75-85% of the world's population has been vaccinated. The United States (population 330 million) is currently vaccinating 2 million people a day. To reach herd immunity in this country (let's estimate 80% of the population) we will need to vaccinate about 235 million people. Assuming the pace of vaccination remains constant, we could reach herd immunity in 117 days—nearly 4 months.
That would put us at the middle of July 2021. Could it be that by the middle of the summer, we will be free to travel?
Proof of vaccination required for travel?
Most of the rest of the world (apart from a couple of small countries) are vaccinating their citizens at a slower pace than the US, so many parts of the world are likely to have relatively high rates of infection for a while—probably into 2022. Experts are expecting restrictions on travel to continue longer. They also envision a "proof of vaccine" stamp on passports to determine who can travel until the pandemic is controlled world-wide.
Meanwhile, vicarious travel.
Thankfully, we at Iris Arts have received 2 doses of the vaccine and are cautiously planning some "non-essential" travel to see family and for photography. Meanwhile, our photo archives have helped tamp down out wanderlust. Although we won't be traveling to Europe or Asia soon, a not-too-long-ago trip to Disney World Epcot provided us with a reminder of what the world has to offer and rekindled our interest in seeing it. For more photos from Epcot, please visit the "recent photos" section of RommesArts. The photos will be up for about a month.
Familiar yet very different. The wonderful (and thankfully, transient) disorientation of travel. Photo: © Donald J. Rommes
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