COVID vaccination advice for Airline crew

[Torontomaplelaughs]

Although I dont trust the medical experts to run the economy and make the decisions on balancing the economy with lockdowns, I am going trust them when it comes to the way forward with vaccinations.

I get the optics of it appearing rushed but humans have done some remarkable things when they have had to.

With so many separate players producing similar results (4 vaccines now??) I'm guessing the science is solid here

[Eric Janson]

As soon as boarding is announced all Social Distancing goes out of the window.

No Social Distancing at all on board - you have no idea what you are being exposed to. Nobody is going to answer 'Yes' to the symptom questions on the Health Declaration imho.

I position regularly and regard this as the most hazardous activity I do.

COVID-19 has become about Politics not science imho.

I'm pretty sure you know that the airflow in an airplane comes in above head level and is pulled out from foot level vents creating a downward flow vs. lateral, is completely changed every 2-3 minutes, and passes through HEPA filters that remove 99% of particulates including this virus. If people wear masks like they're supposed to the risk of getting Covid actually on the airplane is much, much lower than it is sitting in the terminal. That's the science.

@Rockie

That's the guidance I have from my Airline as well.

In the operation I've been doing not a single crew member has tested positive - and we carry COVID positive passengers. My Airline has set up very stringent protocols that are obviously effective.

At my Airline crew are basically in a bubble. I was crewing with the same group of colleagues for several months.

It's 17 days Quarantine,10 days out then repeat. I think I've done 15 weeks Quarantine since June. We are now being tested and need a negative test before starting the domestic pattern.

Coming from days off and I also needed a negative test before starting flights.

Now I need a negative test to enter The Netherlands.

The issues with travelling commercially:-

When boarding is announced Social Distancing goes out of the window at the gate and in the aerobridge (and in the bus). Same goes for people standing in the aisle.

On arrival it is announced that they will de-plane 3 rows at a time. Everyone else to remain seated. Consistently ignored.

There have been suspected cases of COVID transmitted on an aircraft - but very difficult to prove one way or the other.

One thing that is happening is COVID positive passengers arriving in various countries - air travel is how this virus spread globally.

People are selfish - they travel with symptoms. I don't believe anyone will answer "Yes" to the questions on the Health Declaration we need to fill out.

As stated previously I view travelling commercially as the riskiest thing I do. I have no control over who I'm exposed to.

Can't wait to head back to Australia - probably the safest place to be right now imho.

I remain skeptical about the vaccines - still too many unknowns.

The only thing I'm 100% certain about is Pfizer and Moderna will make Billions.

[lownslow]

I get the optics of it appearing rushed but humans have done some remarkable things when they have had to.

As far as I know vaccine testing goes through three several-month-long phases, however those phases don’t really share anything between them. Usually they’re done sequentially to allow time to tweak things if necessary. This time around it’s my understanding that they launched phase one and after a couple trouble-free weeks they launched the next phase, then repeated. All three phases were their typical length but were run concurrently. No actual corners were cut and the only real risk was financial since a failure in testing would likely scrap other testing that traditionally wouldn’t have even been started yet. Also AFAIK there is nothing groundbreaking about this covid vaccine so IMO it carries no more risk to myself than any other.

I relate the protracted testing to having three pilots work together to get a flight going quickly. One checks the weather, one does weight and balance, and one checks NOTAMs. Nobody is skipping anything and if any one of the three finds an issue they can hit the brakes on the whole operation while the three confer on what to do about it.

At least that’s my take on it. I’m clearly not a virologist, I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn last night, and I know how early on the Dunning-Kruger curve I stand. I made my decision for myself and I can report that the Pfizer-made vaccine is the easiest shot I’ve ever taken.

[smooth]

I hope not too many people think like you guys. The only chance most of us have at getting back to work is large scale vaccination.

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