(CNN) – An already pent-up desire to travel has only grown with the global exhaustion of pandemic restrictions and the introduction of vaccines in some countries.
In the United States, many people – as seen in the hustle and bustle of Florida spring break revelers and the latest passenger numbers at airport security checks – are already on the move, vaccinated or not.
Some Americans are waiting for CDC guidance on travel for fully vaccinated people, while others who have had their photos are already traveling or making plans.
People from different corners of the world are asking, “Can I travel – and should I?” The answers are never universal.
In the UK, travel – domestic or international – is currently prohibited by the government. In Ireland, citizens must stay within 3 miles of their home to exercise. The United States clearly has far fewer movement restrictions.
When and how far you can travel – and whether the choice is yours – depends on where you live and, in many cases, your own risk tolerance.
Spring break has sparked tension in Miami Beach, Florida, over concerns about virus transmission.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Do I have to travel?
There is a low risk of getting or transmitting coronavirus in transit, especially when people travel by private vehicle, said Wen, an emergency physician and visiting professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Air travel, especially when everyone is masked, is also pretty safe, she said.
“If travel in itself carries a very low risk, why can’t we say that fully vaccinated people can travel to different parts of the country to visit their relatives, as long as they don’t gather many unvaccinated people. different households? “
The CDC has said it plans to release travel guides for vaccinated Americans soon.
Even those who have not been vaccinated can travel in a relatively safe manner, Wen said, if they go to see another family.
“That’s a low risk, and there are ways that unvaccinated people can do it safely. For example, they can quarantine and get tested before the trip,” she said.
Tony Johnston, who comes from Ireland from a tourist rather than a medical perspective to the question “should I travel”, has a definitive answer in the other direction.
We shouldn’t travel yet, he says.
“People have to stay cautious and conservative for a few more months. The big prize, if people are patient, is that the international tourism industry will reopen sooner rather than later,” said Johnston, who heads the hospitality, tourism and leisure studies department at Athlone. Institute of Technology.
Another wave of the virus could jeopardize that reopening, he said, noting that the Irish hospitality industry is still completely closed. Politicians are calling for a very cautious reopening, given the skyrocketing number of hospital admissions and deaths in the country after Christmas.
Many Americans are ready to travel, with record passenger numbers in a pandemic at US airports this month.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
It’s what happens when you get there, that’s the key
For those planning to travel, what you do when you arrive at your destination is often more of a concern than what happens in transit, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
“The most prudent way to travel is by car because you can create a cocoon of protection, you can run in and out of toilets, you can get transit, you can bring wipes when you wipe the gas pump when you fill up the tank again.
“But again, it’s what you do, wherever you go, that increases your risk.”
Spring breakers in Florida gather outside on the beach but then they go to bars and restaurants’ and that’s when they have a drink or three and the masks go off, and they talk with enthusiasm and they are close to other people in an enclosed space . spaces for extended periods of time, ”said Schaffner.
Travelers who plan to participate in higher-risk activities should ideally wait until they are vaccinated, Wen said, “and even then try to pick and choose your activities because you don’t want anything with a high risk. to do together.”
And don’t forget, vaccinations are not “harness,” says Schaffner. It is still important to wear masks and maintain as much social distance as possible.
If you’re unvaccinated and engage in riskier behaviors while you’re away, you’ll need to quarantine and then get tested as soon as you get home, Wen said.
The best advice for anyone traveling soon?
First, “please do whatever you can to get vaccinated. Number 2, if you can’t get vaccinated, get tested before you go to make sure you’re negative. And number 3, where do you go? and what do you plan to do? Please be as careful as possible, “says Schaffner.
He has a colleague who signs with every call, “Stay out of bars!”
Good advice, he says.