Post-vaccine Amtrak travel

[20th Century Rider]

Like so many others, I am looking forward to putting this nightmare into the rearview mirror! Let us all take precautions to stay safe and healthy, and keep our vision of a pandemic free country with stable government and robust economy.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Like so many others, I am looking forward to putting this nightmare into the rearview mirror! Let us all take precautions to stay safe and healthy, and keep our vision of a pandemic free country with stable government and robust economy.
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And a thriving Amtrak rail system!

 

[Dakota 400]

Like so many others, I am looking forward to putting this nightmare into the rearview mirror! Let us all take precautions to stay safe and healthy, and keep our vision of a pandemic free country with stable government and robust economy

And, being able to go shopping, dine in a restaurant, return to an in-person church service, etc. without having to wear a mask, trying to keep safely away from other people, and wondering if I am playing "Russian roulette" with my life by doing whatever I now have to do to meet the requirements of daily life.

 

[20th Century Rider]

And, being able to go shopping, dine in a restaurant, return to an in-person church service, etc. without having to wear a mask, trying to keep safely away from other people, and wondering if I am playing "Russian roulette" with my life by doing whatever I now have to do to meet the requirements of daily life.

You took the words right out of my mouth!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

The airlines have refused thus far to participate at the origination point on the grounds they don't have jurisdiction, aren't health experts or law enforcement officials. As a result the testing will be done here on arrival and the airlines may not be forced to transport those not complying back. I suspect that issue will be decided by a court long after it becomes a problem.

Airlines are already on the hook for collecting numerous passenger details, including flying the passenger home on the next flight whenever they miss something, so the back end processing and protocols already exist. Representatives often make a big stink about this sort of thing but even large airlines risk insolvency if they refuse to comply. The threat of losing landing rights or being saddled with immigration related fines and penalties is usually enough to push most to cooperate rather than become a martyr over something minor.

 

[Lonestar648]

I can’t wait for this country to get beyond the danger point of this virus. Like many things there is no 100%, so Covid will always be around and unfortunately some will not take the vaccine and eventually will get the virus. This is the story we have been hearing for months, but recently something new has appeared on the horizon, a new mutation strain found in the UK and now in Houston that is more contagious and more lethal than the Covid 19. And it is said that the current vaccines will not protect against this version. So are we destined to be mask wearers, in a society that doesn’t touch or get close to one another.? Post Covid-19 maybe getting vaccinated for Covid-21. If this is the future, for those of us who have compromised immunity, our future is dismal.I ache to get onto one of my loop train trips.

 

[20th Century Rider]

I can’t wait for this country to get beyond the danger point of this virus. Like many things there is no 100%, so Covid will always be around and unfortunately some will not take the vaccine and eventually will get the virus. This is the story we have been hearing for months, but recently something new has appeared on the horizon, a new mutation strain found in the UK and now in Houston that is more contagious and more lethal than the Covid 19. And it is said that the current vaccines will not protect against this version. So are we destined to be mask wearers, in a society that doesn’t touch or get close to one another.? Post Covid-19 maybe getting vaccinated for Covid-21. If this is the future, for those of us who have compromised immunity, our future is dismal.I ache to get onto one of my loop train trips.

Not entirely true nor quite as bad as you say. But it does spread easier and faster... which is not good...

"The danger of the new Covid variant isn't that it's more severe, but that it's more contagious. If more people get infected, this will increase the burden on already-overwhelmed hospitals—and lead to more deaths." Dr. Tom Freiden -
President & CEO
@ResolveTSL
| Sr Fellow
@CFR_org
| Former Director
@CDCgov
& Cmish
@nycHealthy
| Focused on saving lives | COVID-19 pandemic response & recovery

 

[joelkfla]

And it is said that the current vaccines will not protect against this version.

Said by whom? Everything I've heard is that the experts expect the existing vaccines wll provide protection (subject to further research), but perhaps not the 95% efficacy.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Said by whom? Everything I've heard is that the experts expect the existing vaccines wll provide protection (subject to further research), but perhaps not the 95% efficacy.

Exactly.

 

[jis]

recently something new has appeared on the horizon, a new mutation strain found in the UK and now in Houston that is more contagious and more lethal than the Covid 19. And it is said that the current vaccines will not protect against this version. So are we destined to be mask wearers, in a society that doesn’t touch or get close to one another.?

Can you provide a credible reference for all the claims you make about the new mutations? Your claims appear to be completely at odds with everything I have seen in reputable journals.

From what I have seen, the new mutations are more contagious but *not* more lethal, and it has been categorically stated that the two mRNA vaccines in use in the US at present will most likely protect, since the vaccine depends on multiple features of the spike proteins and not all (or even many) of them are compromised.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

He used to be one of the more optimistic members but it's easy to fall into the trap of catastrophic thinking while living through extended adversity. At some point even positive feedback begins to look more like false hope. It's still a good idea to clear the air and correct the record though. If any of that is actually true it should be corroborated by numerous sources. I've heard a few troubling developments recently but only in the form of unproven hypotheticals.

 

[jis]

Good point Chris....

Instead of flooding folks with random collection of technical papers, I spent some time to come up with one concise credible reference. And this is what I found so far:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...irus-mutation-is-worrying-but-not-terrifying/
It is Scientific American. Hard to get more credible than that.

 

[20th Century Rider]

Good point Chris....

Instead of flooding folks with random collection of technical papers, I spent some time to come up with one concise credible reference. And this is what I found so far:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...irus-mutation-is-worrying-but-not-terrifying/
It is Scientific American. Hard to get more credible than that.

With all this stuff... don't listen to hearsay... listen to the experts!

 

[west point]

my take being in a compromised category. I will get the two shots three weeks apart and then another 3 weeks. Then I will continue to practice masking and distancing. But I will leave my solitary confinement and try to visit all the family I have avoided since the end of January 2020. Then shortly after on to Amtrak.
93% probability protection is enough for me. If I do not have it then covid-19B117 will get me anyway.

 

[Lonestar648]

With all this stuff... don't listen to hearsay... listen to the experts!

I totally agree. I was watching the evening new, think CBS, they had an expert stating this. Now in hind sight, I should checked the person out, but I was just listening until I heard him mention the new strain. My wife heard a doctor discuss the Houston case briefly on local news saying about the same thing. I think we may have fallen in to the easy trap of the self proclaimed “experts”. Every TV network and TV station have their own paid experts. I did ask my personal doctor who said there isn’t enough known yet, except to always have my guard up and not relax my protection. He did say though much different from the flu, he would not be surprised to hear about a booster for the early vaccines in a couple years or so as researchers learn more about the vaccines that have been already devoloped.

 

[20th Century Rider]

And when the pandemic is over... hope I never have to look at a 'flex meal' again!

 

[jis]

my take being in a compromised category. I will get the two shots three weeks apart and then another 3 weeks.

How many weeks apart you get the two shots will depend on which specific vaccine you get. The dosage and space between the two shots is not the same for all of them.

 

[gwolfdog]

Amazing Articles about ethics of who receives the Vaccine and Institutions that have abused guidelines can be found at [email protected], FREE

 

[jis]

Here is a NY Times article on the issues involved in deciding which group should get prioritized. May require a subscription to access the full article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/05/health/covid-vaccine-first.html
Here is another very informative article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/...show&region=hub&context=storyline_vaccine_hub
Incidentally, UK facing an unprecedented outbreak has decided to postpone the second shot of the Pfizer vaccine out as far as 12 weeks instead of the recommended 4 weeks. It is still a hotly debated decision.

Here is an article on the status of this ongoing debate...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/03/...e0-535e-11eb-a445-450e8e17229b&variant=1_Show

 

[gwolfdog]

If you can travel to Russian, Sputnik 5 Vaccine is readily available and much safer according to Putin. .

 

[jis]

If you can travel to Russian, Sputnik 5 Vaccine is readily available and much safer according to Putin. .

You don't have to travel to Russia. Mexico has a significant order of the Gamaleya Vaccine, which is the brand name for what was developed as the Sputnik V vaccine. Surprisingly, Mexico has ordered very little vaccine from any US Company - just a very small order from Pfizer. Its other orders are from AstraZeneca, and two Chinese companies. Their largest order is with AstraZeneca.

The biggest customer of Gamaleya is India, but then again India is also the biggest customer of AstraZeneca and Novavax, and of course the locally developed Bharat Biotech. It has also ordered from Pfizer and Moderna, but small orders, that are not mentioned by Bloomberg in their vaccine tracker. India is basically covering Bangladesh and Myanmar to a large extent in addition to India of course. The AstraZeneca vaccine known as Covishield in India is being manufactured by Serum Institute in Pune and they allegedly have a stock of 50 million ready to go, and on track to produce 100 million per month.

 

[jis]

So I started exploring possibilities of a random trip in April around my birthday. As I was doing this Amtrak decided to bestow Select status upon me out of the blue. Meanwhile United had already sent me my lifetime Platinum status, which caused me to get an extreme urge to get off the ground up into the sky soon.

My primary Amtrak ride motivation is to go and visit the Moynihan Train Hall. But that is in New York with all sorts of travel restrictions still in place, so I think I will hold off on that.

So for Amtrak ride, the best bet appears to be my usual jaunt to North Carolina and back involving two states with no restrictions.

Then again, it would appear that I could fly to Denver and back and satisfy my urges to fly up in the clouds. Of course California, Chicago and New York are out for now and Houston, has no easy way to get to ride on rails. Decisions.... decisions....

 

[20th Century Rider]

So I started exploring possibilities of a random trip in April around my birthday. As I was doing this Amtrak decided to bestow Select status upon me out of the blue. Meanwhile United had already sent me my lifetime Platinum status, which caused me to get an extreme urge to get off the ground up into the sky soon.

My primary Amtrak ride motivation is to go and visit the Moynihan Train Hall. But that is in New York with all sorts of travel restrictions still in place, so I think I will hold off on that.

So for Amtrak ride, the best bet appears to be my usual jaunt to North Carolina and back involving two states with no restrictions.

Then again, it would appear that I could fly to Denver and back and satisfy my urges to fly up in the clouds. Of course California, Chicago and New York are out for now and Houston, has no easy to get to ride on rails. Decisions.... decisions....

We are all getting tired of COVID and it's restrictions. And I think many of us want to see Amtrak come out of this with a 'reborn' service standard. Prior to covid things were beginning to sag as costs were cut... which encouraged revenue to go down.

Now we 'hopefully' have a pro Amtrak administration... along with an environmental incentive to energize the entire rail system. America leads the world in many things... but lags far behind when it comes to railroad technology.

Needless to say there is a pent up energy to bounce out of our cocoons and ride the rails... sipping wine, sharing a good time in the diner with strangers who become friends... and munching on that angus steak burger... and the chips.

If Amtrak management and the government, know of the potential ridership from folks who want to ride the train... we can rebuild that customer base and all the loyalty that goes with it.

Finally... that Amtrak bestowed upon you Select Status... must say something coming from somewhere that they need and value customer patronage.

 

[jis]

Finally... that Amtrak bestowed upon you Select Status... must say something coming from somewhere that they need and value customer patronage.

I think a simple explanation for that is that in 2019 I was Select+. For 2020 I did not collect enough eligible AGR points to make anything so they applied the "soft landing" rule and gave me Select. Come 2021 I think they have just given everyone whatever status they had in 2020 due to the pandemic (unless they managed to better that in 2020 travels). Hence my Select status. Unless I collect enough eligible AGR points this year, I will most likely have no status next year.

On the airline side I have stability with lifetime Platinum status at United. Too bad Amtrak did not do any lifetime thing. I'd have easily gotten some status by now.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I think a simple explanation for that is that in 1919 I was Select+. For 1920 I did not collect enough eligible AGR points to make anything so they applied the "soft landing" rule and gave me Select. Come 2021 I think they have just given everyone whatever status they had in 2020 due to the pandemic (unless they managed to better that in 2020 travels). Hence my Select status. Unless I collect enough eligible AGR points this year, I will most likely have no status next year.

On the airline side I have stability with lifetime Platinum status at United. Too bad Amtrak did not do any lifetime thing. I'd have easily gotten some status by now.

Gee, Jis, I didn’t think you were THAT old.