Gotta love the CDC’s guidance that even once vaccinated, you still should not travel.

Here’s the thing.  I haven’t seen my parents since November of 2019.  The entirety of their exposure to my daughter was during and shortly after her hospitalization, when she was being tube-fed and we were afraid she would die.  I was in bad shape as well, and so it wasn’t a normal visit at all.  My Dad is 79 with multiple health conditions, and really, I don’t know how many healthy years he has left.  My Mom is 74, and while she’s doing great, you never know what the future will hold.  Both are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine as of February.

My parents plan to disregard the CDC’s guidance and come spend a couple weeks with me in April.  Since they live at the other side of the country, traveling by plane with a layover is the only option.  We know it’s not perfectly safe.  But what is more important in life than spending time with the people you love?  And honestly, I am not worried.

There are various variants spreading about.  I honestly don’t know what to make of them.  I have always though the UK variant was overblown – an excuse, really, to explain the runaway spread of Covid in the UK more likely caused by socializing, and I stopped worrying once I heard the vaccine was effective against it.  (I’m sure the variant was a factor, just not the primary one.)  The South African and Brazilian variants are scarier, but if you look at the chart of what’s going on in SA, case numbers have plummeted to near zero despite no lock-down or vaccination to explain it.  Things look dire in Brazil, and I’m alarmed by the rising death numbers there.

Right now, the only variant widespread in the US is the UK variant, which the vaccine protects against.  Will things be safer in three months?  Six months?  Maybe.  But equally likely, maybe not.  Maybe things will be worse.  There may be a variant spreading that the vaccine is not effective against, and it may again become dangerous for vulnerable people like my parents to travel.

So why the heck are we telling people to stay home now?  Furthermore, per Washington state rules, my entire family must quarantine if my parents come visit us.  For two weeks, or one week (7 days) with a Covid test.  This is DESPITE the vaccine.  I would happily ignore such nonsense, but our school asks everyone to be compliant with this rule, and I try to fully follow all school guidelines.  Thus, my kids will stay home from school for a full seven days from when my parents arrive, and then they’ll have to get a Covid test.  (We have moved their trip to spring break to minimize school missed.)

I’m curious what others think.  Is it safe for your fully vaccinated parents to travel?  Or for you to travel to them?  Or are you going to continue to wait until the CDC says it’s OK?