There were two significant developments in my travel plans last week. One good, one bad.
Bad news first: British Airways canceled my flights to and from Malta (scheduled for February 27 & March 6), a not-unexpected move that forced me to pull the plug on the trip altogether. The airline miles I used to book it have gone back into my account, so I may try it again in the winter of 2022. Still, it's the third trip that fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm thinking of renting an AirB&B in North Carolina's wine country for a few days as a replacement vacation.
But the good news is I received my first shot of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, with an appointment for the second shot in mid-February. That means that I should be good to go for the Turkey trip in May as long as Intrepid runs its tour (so far, they've canceled everything through March) and Turkey is open for tourism. Fingers crossed!
There are still a lot of questions, though. Will the pandemic be batter or worse by May? Will I be able to get an immunization passport for the trip, or will I need a negative COVID-test to board my flights? Does immunization mean I can't contract COVID, or does it just mean it won't be a bad case if I do get it? And if so, what happens if I get a positive result before I board the flight to go home? There's still nearly four months to answer those questions, so for now I'm only adding five percent to the likelihood of my future travel plans. Turkey in May is up to 60%, Southeast Asia in November is up to 90%.
And while this site and this blog are travel-focused, my true hope is that this development means the beginning of the end of the brutal pandemic phase of COVID-19 is within sight... for all of us.
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