By the autumn everyone in Scotland over the age of 18 should have been offered one of the Covid vaccinations. That's 4.4 million people.
But this will depend entirely on supplies - and just now, public health experts say they only know how many doses they can expect until June.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-54984390
I couldn’t look my niece’s and nephews in the eye if I got given the green light to travel whilst they’re expected to sit at home to some time unknown.
Well that's your choice.
Personally, if we're able to we'll be off somewhere as soon as we can.
But this will depend entirely on supplies – and just now, public health experts say they only know how many doses they can expect until June.
The schedule for the Oxford one is 100m doses at 2m per week over 50 weeks. Obviously something can go wrong, but that's the 'nothing goes wrong' delivery schedule. Ahead of the curve so far, averaging 3m a week.
. I couldn’t look my niece’s and nephews in the eye if I got given the green light to travel whilst they’re expected to sit at home to some time unknown
Well, we're not planning on rubbing his nose in it, Rule 1 and all that. But him and his mates - who are perfectly aware of how they've been done over by the older generation in a variety of ways - really are nowhere near as wound up about these things compared to some on here.
46 year old wife got the text from the doctors today, shes getting it thursday. shes as shocked as i am and can only think its cos she uses an inhaler now and then…..
Plenty of this going round. Some gp's just vaccinating anyone with any kind of long term ailment. Others sticking religiously to the rules. I don't think it's down to the gp howver, they get a list from somewhere. Im not sure how it works but there appears to be a fairly large slice of luck involved!
Well that’s your choice.
Personally, if we’re able to we’ll be off somewhere as soon as we can.
Yep, we're all in it together whilst it suits us 🙄
Plenty of this going round. Some gp’s just vaccinating anyone with any kind of long term ailment. Others sticking religiously to the rules. I don’t think it’s down to the gp howver, they get a list from somewhere. Im not sure how it works but there appears to be a fairly large slice of luck involved!
A guy I work with was surprised to get the call for a vaccine as he's under 60, turns out he has a hole in his heart... I think some people's minor ailments might be another persons major but they are in the same pot and thus both getting vaccinated
I’ve not heard him, or his mates in his wider social circle a couple of years older, or any of the young people we know through the youth groups we are involved with, suggest that they hold any resentment on the oldies maybe going abroad when they can’t. They are just putting their heads down, and doing what they need to do so that all aspects of restrictions can be eased as as soon as practicable for all of us.
It seems another STW concern that I’m really not seeing out in the real world.
And yet I am. Not from my own 2 who are at Uni with their own education related issues but on the Interweb. Its almost as though both of our perceptions are anecdotal.
My 2 are pretty ok with all of the restrictions but many of their friends, friends of friends etc are flouting the guidelines. I dont share your view that they are "putting their heads down" and getting on with it. I think the degree of adherence to guidelines will be strained if older people are vaccinated and can travel and younger are not, particularly as they may perceive Covid as something less likely to impact on them.
Raab says Boris will provide clarity on what Summer Hols we can have, on Monday. Don't raise your expectation too high, however old or entitled you are. 😉
And don’t forget.....
It might not matter what Boris and co say.....
If other countries add the UK to their own Red ( other colours may be quoted ) list they may not allow visitors from the UK anyway .....
I’m not planning on going anywhere this year as a result... then I can’t get disappointed
Good point. I have a fried in Cyprus and although the rely on a lot of Brit Tourism he says locally we are the country they are most nervous of inviting back...
My eldest is 18 this year – should be doing something nice somewhere foreign with his mates after A levels this summer.
I’ve not heard him, or his mates in his wider social circle a couple of years older, or any of the young people we know through the youth groups we are involved with, suggest that they hold any resentment on the oldies maybe going abroad when they can’t. They are just putting their heads down, and doing what they need to do so that all aspects of restrictions can be eased as as soon as practicable for all of us.
It seems another STW concern that I’m really not seeing out in the real world.
I think you're being pretty naive if you think that supposedly your 18 year old wouldn't hold a grudge let alone the wider young population. I'd not be ecstatic if I wasn't able to travel at that age but the elder population would.
Maybe what they tell you and what they think really think are two different things.
I'm 41 and will be pissed off if i see a while load of old people clearing off on holiday because they have had the vaccine due to their risk.
I have no issue with them getting the vaccine before my age group as they need it due to the risk of them having bigger effects. However that is not a free pass to sod off on holiday just because they can when the rest of us are not allowed.
I’m 32, my wife’s 31 and we’re feeling a bit down about the vaccine schedule. Just as we reach the point where we have enough money to go and have a last big adventure before we have kids (and, to be honest, go on holidays abroad at all - almost all of our holidays have been in the UK), the pandemic robbed us of 2020, and the vaccine schedule will probably rob us of 2021 as well.
I resent it, but it’s not like there’s anything I can do about it, and I don’t know how the rollout could be different (other than a hell of a lot quicker in Scotland…). So, I feel glum about it but not angry.
I think the key point here is those of us who haven't been vaccinated are still at risk, maybe with lower severity. I'm just under 50 and overweight (although I'm actively addressing that, 5Kg down since Christmas, partly due to the wake up call Covid has been) so have the potential to be quite ill. The vaccine might stop the older population from getting it bad but they could still cause a big spike in less severe cases amongst the rest of us and while death or long term hopsitialisation may be a lot less likely I really don't want to be properly ill, potentially end up in hospital or get long covid because a group the rest of us have sacrificed a lot for over the last 12 months can't now do the same for us for a few more months.
WEll lets see if anything comes from todays discussions.
Was chatting to Mrs Weeksy at the weekend at Portugal at end of May and looking at all the figures now, i think if we're allowed and the event is on... then we'd arguably go.
But not with £1750 per person and 10 days quarentine we wouldn't that's for sure.
But with a pre-flight and return flight covid test being £500+ for 3 people, that would increase the expense dramatically and maybe that would be a deal-breaker. That's the one thing i can't see changing by May, the need to get a CV19 test.
I'm not sure we're going to get much guidance regarding summer hols from todays announcement.
Too far in the future to make any promises, too many unknowns, etc.
The brainless optimism of last year has been less obvious during this second wave - I think he's now realised that promising everyone they can get on a plane at the end of July might come back and bite him.
But not with £1750 per person and 10 days quarentine we wouldn’t that’s for sure.
I love how it's a flat rate £1750.....
Having a family member who's a manager of a chain branch airport hotel who are participating.
Normal price 35 quid a night
covid quaranitine price to gov .... 67 quid.
Gov charge 175 quid a night.
Ok some folk get the Radisson for 1750 .... Others don't.....you can imagine what 35 quid a night gets you in an airport hotel.
Not in any rush to travel although it would be nice to see my parents not through a screen....but not at the expense of getting on a plane.
The vaccine might stop the older population from getting it bad but they could still cause a big spike in less severe cases amongst the rest of us and while death or long term hopsitialisation may be a lot less likely I really don’t want to be properly ill, potentially end up in hospital or get long covid because a group the rest of us have sacrificed a lot for over the last 12 months can’t now do the same for us for a few more months.
I am in agreement with you, but... unfortunately I think there is a sizeable chunk (I don't think a majority) of the older population that are considering the vaccination like a passport to normality. While I understand they are keen to "get back to normal" I think there is a lack of awareness of exactly what the vaccine does and that its not a free pass. There still need to be sensible behaviour. Also although I hate crowds I think it would be good if the money was spent in the UK.
unfortunately I think there is a sizeable chunk (I don’t think a majority) of the older population that are considering the vaccination like a passport to normality. While I understand they are keen to “get back to normal” I think there is a lack of awareness of exactly what the vaccine does and that its not a free pass. There still need to be sensible behaviour.
This is the message the government and the press need to be highlighting. We need to edge out of this. Too much mixing - home or abroad - might not affect the young or the vaccinated too badly, but it will still add extra pressure while the NHS tries catch its breath and plan how to catch up on normal backlogs, and more crucially, give more opportunities for variants to emerge
will be pissed off if i see a while load of old people clearing off on holiday because they have had the vaccine due to their (own) risk
But they will, won't they. Jab and Go. the govt. will be desperate to get people going out again, getting money being spent. By May it will feel like we're boing told "Go to Pret, go to Corsica, go go!".
Meanwhile the younger generations, who don't have the pension, don't have stable jobs, can't afford their own home, have grown up through austerity and cuts to their safety nets. Watching the boomers swanning around off on their holibobs, meanwhile waiting for their jab....
riots by August?
I think what us unvaccinated types need to remember is to stay well away from the vaccinated ones who apparently don’t spread that much contagion but won’t show it at all - silent spreaders. Give them a wide berth, don’t spend time talking to them, if they turn up walk in the opposite direction.
Please read the above as fact or satire as you see fit. Either way it’s not well written really is it?
riots by August?
Nah, they'll be too busy at illegal raves and parties
On the news this morning, all the holiday companies busiest day yesterday after the latest announcements. Foreign holiday bookings through the roof....
Foreign holiday bookings through the roof….
Excellent, all the plebs will have ****ed off leaving me to my quiet woodland residence 🙂
PCR tests required both ways at the moment for a lot of destinations, maybe further down the line, despite what the UK gov. says, if the destination requires proof of vaccine, you'll need to be vaccinated which potentially means no travel till September for most, judging by the current rate of vaccination.
footflaps
Full Member
On the news this morning, all the holiday companies busiest day yesterday after the latest announcements. Foreign holiday bookings through the roof….
My magicball foretells a future with lots of whining coming through the media when a lot of people can't go abroad due to lockdowns/not having a vaccination and that they never took out appropriate (if it's even available) insurance to cover their losses.
I'm thinking much the same as Kryton here. I really am hoping that people do go abroad so I can ride my bike in peace. I'm not planning on going far this summer at all.
I’m thinking much the same as Kryton here. I really am hoping that people do go abroad so I can ride my bike in peace. I’m not planning on going far this summer at all.
Me too. We avoided going to our usual haunts last year , even after restrictions were lifted, because they were all so busy and the poor locals were already suffering. I'll be scunnered if it's the same again this year.
Obvioulsy they want the tourism money back as it's very significant, but if I'm reading this right, you might need negative tests each way *and* a vaccine certificate?
Spain to add Covid-19 vaccine passport to travel corridor scheme
The Local
news@thelocal.es
@thelocalspain
23 February 2021
12:08 CET+01:00Spain to add Covid-19 vaccine passport to travel corridor scheme
Although Covid vaccine passports are not yet a reality in Spain, the country's Tourism Minister has already added it to the safe travel protocol. Photo: AFP
Spain's Tourism Minister has announced that Covid vaccination certificates or passports will form part of the safe travel corridor scheme her government is preparing to allow the reopening of international tourism.Spanish Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Reyes Maroto on Monday told journalists in Castellón (Valencia) that her government plans to incorporate vaccine passports or certificates to the safe travel corridors they are planning, as “an element of safe mobility”.
"We already have safety protocols in place but we want to take another step to help restart travel as soon as the coronavirus situation allows for it," Maroto said.
There is no indication Spain’s Tourism Ministry intends to replace negative PCR or antigen tests with vaccine passports as a means of proving one doesn’t have Covid-19 before entering Spain, but rather these will be another way of guaranteeing that there isn’t infection risk.
Minister Maroto added that her government was working with the EU and the OECD to “adopt common protocols that give travellers the confidence that they can travel safely”.
However Spain’s chief epidemiologist Fernando Simón is reported to not be convinced by the prospect of Spain adopting and allowing a Covid-19 vaccine passport “for the moment”, suggesting that “a lot more research is needed” and “it can’t be set up quickly”.
Regarding Spain’s Tourism Ministry's planned safe travel corridors, Reyes Maroto stated that Spain was already a pioneer in this regard and had set them up “with great agility” last summer.
"We already have these protocols approved for use in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands and we are working with the Valencia region, Catalonia and Andalusia,” Maroto stated.
The reality is that last year’s travel corridors had limited success as Spain’s Canary Islands and the Balearics, the two main locations to trial them last summer, were affected by restrictions and travel bans both at home and abroad due to ever-changing infection rates, meaning the scheme never really took off.
When international tourism will restart again in Spain is the big question that remains.
Maroto said that the opening of international tourism fair Fitur at the end of May was “great news” as it “would allow the world to see how Spain and the Valencia region were a quality and safe destination”.
“The pandemic sets the pace,” she said when asked if her department believed it was possible to ‘save Easter’ in terms of tourism, adding that once the infection and vaccines figures are favourable it would be easier to set a date.
Maroto did add nonetheless that if Spain’s government's vaccination campaign goes to plan and herd immunity is achieved throughout the summer "it gives hope and certainty that that the second semester of 2021 will be when the reactivation of the tourism sector" takes place.
“We must be prudent and not take a step backwards, which can lead to a new wave, and the consequences for the tourism sector would be potentially worse,” Maroto concluded.
riots by August?
Nah, they’ll be too busy at illegal raves and parties
Holiday squatting in vacated boomer's mansions.
Holiday squatting in vacated boomer’s mansions.
This is actually an issue in Spain, squatting is a real problem and getting it sorted through the courts is a long and expensive process.
There are companies that will 'get rid' of squatters for you without going through the time and expence of the court process, I suspect they send the heavies round to kick the living daylights out of the squatters.
I too hope that more will bog off to foreign climes - and leave our family in peace...
That said, in Scotland I am fortunate enough that once you leave the carpark you can find some peace and solitude.
If I can find it on Instagram or some kind of vLogger/blogger site, I am not visiting this year. That's my planning rule.
A lot of people are putting deposits down on holidays (here & abroad) because most companies have good covid refund policies
Also lots of people have trips fully or part paid & deferred from last year are just rebooking now
I think many are willing to accept it may not happen, but will get it deferred/refunded, even if headline booking figures are up
Tourism/hospitality industries everywhere are in dire straights so Id fully expect some sort of vaccine passport / test to travel scheme to be in place by early summer, even tho vaccination rates won't really be high enough to justify it.
This means those that can afford it (an extra 2 grand? for a family in testing fees) will get their holiday in the med this year
The rest of us will just have to pray to the weather gods we get another scorchio summer in the UK (tho our place we normally stay it in Cornwall has booked out months earlier than normal some weeks back)
Johnson has said that we will have an "incomparably better summer this year" so expectations will be high
My buddies are all getting a bit carried away that we might make it to the Pyrenees in July.
Thing is at this rate I don't think I'd want to go, even if there weren't any additional costs, I've already sort of shifted my mindset to a local holiday again, and can't imagine a foreign trip being very restful, trying to make it through the various transport hubs *JUST* as restrictions are starting to ease.
So I should really put my money where my mouth is and commit to that bikepacking gear I was going to buy, since I don't imagine I'll find accommodation where and when I need it in the highlands for my planned trips...
Re vaccine passports and tests - most if not all airlines want a Neg test before you get on a plane at either end. Despite not going, I researched our desired Menorca destination via Jet2 and this was the case with a free test offered at the hotel 24hrs before departure. Jet2 do have a very good :own brand: Covid policy so this will have encouraged people to book.
This means those that can afford it (an extra 2 grand? for a family in testing fees
Our holiday would have only been an extra £200 (10 days all inc. Menorca) but you can book for 2022 and that's already showing as £800 more.
The rest of us will just have to pray to the weather gods we get another scorchio summer in the UK (tho our place we normally stay it in Cornwall has booked out months earlier than normal some weeks back)
I'm putting the holiday money I've saved toward some Ratten furniture.... Like Mr P I'm looking forward to hitting some bike time.
A lot of people are putting deposits down on holidays (here & abroad) because most companies have good covid refund policies
Also lots of people have trips fully or part paid & deferred from last year are just rebooking now
I think many are willing to accept it may not happen, but will get it deferred/refunded, even if headline booking figures are up
This is true for us.
We've booked flights and a hotel somewhere warm in late August. We can cancel the hotel up to 14 days before arrival and the flights were cheap so if we lose money on them so be it (though I suspect they'll either be cancelled with refund or moved).
Car or transfers we'll worry about close to the time.
It's something to look forward to and it's not a huge financial outlay.
Yep same. We deferred our 2020 hol (in Canada) and rebooked it over Xmas to September 2021. We confirmed that the cancellation policies are pretty relaxed so if it doesn't look sensible then we'll just reschedule again. By getting in early we got the flights £500 cheaper this year than they were going to be last year...
My magicball foretells a future with lots of whining coming through the media when a lot of people can’t go abroad due to lockdowns/not having a vaccination and that they never took out appropriate (if it’s even available) insurance to cover their losses.
I can see a fair bit of this. Maybe not that they can't go abroad but that they can't get back again, having tested positive at departure after two weeks drunken snogging randoms at 3am in a sweaty club.
an extra 2 grand? for a family in testing fees
WTF, it is 35 euros to get a test in Germany, 70 euros if you forget to get it done in advance and get the test at the airport before flying.
What about the Channel Tunnel and ferries?
Will they also have vaccination or Covid negative test conditions of travel?
WTF, it is 35 euros to get a test in Germany, 70 euros if you forget to get it done in advance and get the test at the airport before flying.
these are the current prices for getting a test upon return to England
Get a test before travelling
You must have proof of a negative coronavirus test to travel to England – this includes UK citizens. You must take the test in the 3 days before the service on which you will arrive in England departs.For example, if you travel directly to England on Friday, you must take the test on the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
See the jobs with testing travel exemptions to find out whether your job qualifies for an exemption and what that exemption covers. You may need to show evidence of the work you will be doing at the border.
Book your travel testing package
Everyone must book a travel test package – this costs £210. You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 for variant surveillance and a test on or after day 8 to check that you do not have COVID-19.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
so if you are blessed with 4 kids like me thats £1260 to come back to UK
and tests for travel to France costs between £89-£295
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/12/test-to-release-price-comparison-/
two weeks drunken snogging randoms at 3am in a sweaty club.
I've changed my mind, I do want to go abroad. Where do I sign up for this?
so ive worked straight through since Jul* last year covering for those unavoidable gaps and now no chance to get away this year as i just cant hope to meet the costs.
any spaces at that £35/night hotel you were talking about?
thanks.
DONT EVER USE OPODO.
If people are happy to take the financial risk booking a holiday now then they can go ahead with no argument from me. What I won't like will be the people who book a holiday then do this:
My magicball foretells a future with lots of whining coming through the media when a lot of people can’t go abroad due to lockdowns/not having a vaccination and that they never took out appropriate (if it’s even available) insurance to cover their losses.
I can see a fair bit of this. Maybe not that they can’t go abroad but that they can’t get back again, having tested positive at departure after two weeks drunken snogging randoms at 3am in a sweaty club.
Those people can go swivel, they should know the risks as it's blatantly obvious with even the most basic of research. There will be lots of them come September, crying that it's unfair that their kids can't go back to school etc all because of their 'right' to have a holiday abroad.
I’m thinking much the same as Kryton here. I really am hoping that people do go abroad so I can ride my bike in peace. I’m not planning on going far this summer at all.
Same here. I'm hoping to do a camping trip or two this year at most, using scotroutes' plan of going to the lesser known places which won't appeal to the masses. I did have a trip planned with friends to the Alps but we've moved that back a year or more now. I could still do a solo trip myself (much easier to deal with delays, tests etc) but I don't have the drive to do so as it's not really the same. If I can do my originally planned SDW ride this year and have a few days riding with mates somewhere (even if it's 2-3 day trips) then I'll consider this year a success holiday-wise.
We have booked the channel tunnel in mid July. It was a really good deal so took the risk. Fingers crossed we can travel sensibly. E we also have a trip to Andorra in September carried forward from last year. Let’s hope the other countries let us in
