Child Turning 5 Right before Scheduled Cruise

[MomOTwins]

I'm a pediatrician. We cannot do this. The federal government owns the vaccine and we have to apply through our state health department to be authorized to recieve shipments of the vaccine and administer them. When Pfizer recieved full approval and we started getting requests for off-label use for younger kids we recieved a flurry of warnings from the health department that if we did so we would have our status as a vaccine site revoked. We also are not covered by the vaccine adverse events fund (the federal fund which is essentially malpractice coverage for vaccines) if we give doses for ages outside the EUA. Criminal charges for theft were brought against a pharmacist who knowingly gave several vaccine doses under age 12. Finally, doses under 5 are expected to be considerably smaller than the 5-11 dose. So even if a child is only a few weeks from age 5 the recommended dose will be lower.

Very informative, thank you. Hopefully, doses for under 5s will be available not too long from now. I feel very lucky as my youngest just turned six—I really feel for those with under 5s as I know how stressed I was waiting for the EUA to come through for 5-12

 

[hdrolfe]

Interesting, when I had enquired with another cruise line as my son would turn 12 on the cruise they said he couldn't sail. I was lucky that Canada (Ontario in that case) allowed kids turning 12 that year to get it, so he is all set even though he turns 12 in two weeks. For kids 5 to 11, it is also going by birth year, so if they turn 5 this year they can get the shots. But we also have to wait 8 weeks between doses in some areas so that's another difference.

 

[anneeb]

Interesting, when I had enquired with another cruise line as my son would turn 12 on the cruise they said he couldn't sail. I was lucky that Canada (Ontario in that case) allowed kids turning 12 that year to get it, so he is all set even though he turns 12 in two weeks. For kids 5 to 11, it is also going by birth year, so if they turn 5 this year they can get the shots. But we also have to wait 8 weeks between doses in some areas so that's another difference.

That is really interesting that Canada is doing things significantly differently. Medically speaking an 11.5 year old probably isn't a lot different than 12 (although many are wondering if we could get by with a smaller dose in 12-15). But a 4 year old who doesn't turn 5 until the end of the calendar year (if they continue the policy for 2022), that is a little more significant.

 

[Babyy]

We have a cruise booked for next year and will be taking our currently 4 year old son. He turns 5 years old just 3 weeks before the cruise which means it will be impossible for him to be fully vaccinated. I contacted Disney multiple times and have received mixed answers on (1) whether he will even be allowed to board, (2) if allowed to board, whether he will be allowed to fully participate in activities with other 5-12 year olds, and (3) where the official policy on this for Disney is. I would hate to get to the port and be denied boarding.
One cast member wouldn’t even give me an answer since she did not know what the policy was but another told me my son would be allowed to board but wasn’t sure on whether he would be allowed to fully participate in activities. Is anyone else running into this issue? I am leaning towards moving our cruise to a later date but my son is already looking forward to the cruise. Thoughts?

Hello! I am in the same your situation. Can you please share your experience? Was there a grace period for a 5 years old who cannot be fully vaccinated before the embark? Thanks!!

 

[Babyy]

We are in the same predicament- embark 2 days after 5th birthday.
I trust the 5 week grace window exists. I do not however know how annoying it will be and can’t find anyone whose actually used it besides ‘my travel agent had someone’

Hello! I am in the same your situation. Can you please share your experience? Was there the 5 years old grace period?
Thanks so much!

 

[Babyy]

We are in the same predicament- embark 2 days after 5th birthday.
I trust the 5 week grace window exists. I do not however know how annoying it will be and can’t find anyone whose actually used it besides ‘my travel agent had someone’

Hello! I am in the same your situation. Can you please share your experience? Was there the 5 years old grace period?
Thanks so much!

 

[lanejudy]

Hello! I am in the same your situation. Can you please share your experience? Was there a grace period for a 5 years old who cannot be fully vaccinated before the embark? Thanks!!

Yes, there is a 5 week grace period after the child's 5th birthday. If the cruise is within that window, the child will need to follow rules for a 4-yr-old (pre-test 3 days prior and at embarkation, mask at the Club/Lab).

 

[Lillebelle]

Yes, there is a 5 week grace period after the child's 5th birthday. If the cruise is within that window, the child will need to follow rules for a 4-yr-old (pre-test 3 days prior and at embarkation, mask at the Club/Lab).

Yep -- our son turned 5 on our cruise in February and he just had to follow the under 5 rules, as described. We had no issues.

 

[Babyy]

Thanks so much to both of you for sharing your experience with me!

Will she be allowed to get out the cruise when it stops at the different islands?

 

[Lillebelle]

We did not get off the ship so I'm not sure about that. At one point they required you to have a Disney excursion booked in order to get off with unvaccinated kids, but I don't know if that's still the case.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Thanks so much to both of you for sharing your experience with me!

Will she be allowed to get out the cruise when it stops at the different islands?

Yes she can get off the ship in port.