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Disney Cruise Line updated its COVID guidelines on Wednesday, saying all children 5 and up must be vaccinated prior to being allowed to board a ship starting Jan. 13 2022.
Disney requires all passengers who are older than 12 to present proof of vaccination prior to being allowed to board.
All passengers aged between 5 and 11 years old must submit a positive COVID test result by the month of Jan. 13 according to the Disney Cruise Line website.
Passengers who are less than 4 years old must continue to provide a negative result for a COVID testing.
Forbes reported that the majority of major cruise lines have requirements for vaccination for passengers who are eligible for the vaccine but few other than Disney have expanded the requirement to young children. Norwegian Cruise Lines requires all crew members and passengers to be fully vaccine-free.
The Disney Cruise Line policy change is a result of the November. 2 decision of the federal government to grant emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 and up.
Cruise ships were hotspots for COVID outbreaks in the beginning of the pandemic, and the industry was shut down in the latter part of 2020.
Cruise ships are operating since this summer. They have followed the CDC’s “conditional sailing order”, which requires COVID-19 preventive measures as well as an actual cruise to test safety protocols before allowing passengers aboard.
The CDC has said it will not apply COVID prevention rules as of Jan. 15, meaning it’s the cruise line’s responsibility to decide on the rules they will apply to passengers, Forbes said.
Sources
Disney Cruise Lines. “Welcome to an Unforgettable Vacation at Sea”
Forbes. “Vaccine Mandates Expanding to Children: Disney Cruise Requires All Children 5 and Up To Be Fully Vaccinated”
Content Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/963245?src=rss
