Do you feel like i do? I miss the posts that tell about the trip. Miss hearing about the food, beaches, people, resorts and yes questions about rental cars. etc.. So what do you miss?? Hopefully trip reporting will be back soon. This new normal is overdue!

Yes, for sure. Will be really great to have some vacation reports again!

Yup! This board help me find Happy Bay, Mark's Place and Sir Roland Richardson Gallery and many more delights. What are some of your finds?

Parrotville (sp)

What I found on this board is lifelong friends.

Correct, same here and many of them.

The new normal for TTOLer's is the first plane to land on the island with a report of arrivals and check in. The rental car and the baguette to bring to the hotel. The swim in the pool or ocean with pics of the sunset.

Once the world (and especially the United States) get back to normal then this board which we love will surely return to normal, but by no means this summer. 2020 has been a pretty screwed up year on a lot of fronts, but I got a hunch that the second half of the year will be better than the first half and necessary changes will be taking place. The largest pharmaceutical company in the U.S. is Pfizer (the 'little blue pill' company) and they have partnered with BioNTech on a COVID-19 vaccine that just may be ready by mid-October for high risk individuals. And, if all goes well because the type of vaccine they are creating does require massive amounts of vat processing ample supplies should be available for the general population if all goes well with their present efficacy trials. Still too soon to tell, but things are looking good vaccine-wise. Other vaccines will also be emerging this winter including a more traditional vaccine from England's AstraZeneca that is also in Phase 2/3 clinical trials, and yet another vaccine similar to the one from Pfizer that uses 'engineered' messenger RNA to deliver it's knock-out punch to SARS-Cov-2. Whether you believe in vaccines or not, it will eventually be time to face the truth and that truth remains that COVID-19 disease will not go away until the majority of the world's population is vaccinated for it. My hope is that by this time next year (and hopefully much sooner) COVID-19 will be a distant memory.

Because I believe I was vaccinated with the travel bug in childhood, I have been having terrible withdrawal because of no trips. But most of all it's missing SXM that hurts the most. Have had to cancel three trips since cover-19 but agin SXM hurt most.

When not in SXM or planning a trip there I need this site for "a fix." Even reading of things I know about I enjoy another's view on it. And when someone posts that little tidbit new to me I savor it, put it in my notes for the next trip.

The average vaccine takes 10-15 years to develop and test, but I'm sure the covid19 will be safe with no side effects after a year of hurried development. No vaccine for me. Good luck.

Thanks for your positive response and hoping for the best . And second part of the year for US hoping and praying .

Thanks to you, Lesley, for your always kind and thoughtful posts. I look forward to renting from you next May.(fingers crossed )

Sure there are risks with any vaccine, as there were back in 1955 when Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine. But, what's the alternative? Polio was also a virus, and that vaccination effort was one of the most successful endeavors in human history. People will only social distance for so long, and many will stop wearing face masks when out in public. As a father of two adult sons who became scientists, I see how hard my youngest son (who is a molecular and cell biologist) works -- six days a week, 13 hour days in the lab, as they march forward towards the development of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. I fully trust the scientific community in this area, but I respect the decision of any one who feels uncomfortable with getting a vaccine.

Please note that the initial findings from the first human trials have found the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines to be "safe, well-tolerated, and able to generate an immune response in humans by producing virus-specific antibodies and T-cells within 14 days of inoculation. I suggest reading an online publication called 'The Lancet' to keep up on COVID-19 vaccine developments. It's a scientific website for scientists, but not so technical that it's hard to understand for the general public. I want to get back to St. Maarten as bad as anyone, but I want to do it safely and without the possibility of bringing this virus back to SXM.

Wow now I'm totally impressed with you are saying but not into reading all the heavy details scientifically .

We too have found lifelong friends, both from the States and on the island of SXM. We miss both and have made changes in our plans twice now. Hoping we don't have to do so again with our scheduled trip at the end of October. But...it's not looking as good now as it was a week or two ago. IT'S COMING BACK!! Don't put your masks away!

Thanks Folks very much.

What if in order to travel....the vaccine is required? I have a feeling many countries including the USA will require folks to be vaccinated before they are allowed to visit. We have a yellow card that has all of our vaccinations documented. So in addition to having a passport for proof of citizenship, you have to have proof of inoculations to get into many countries. What if St. Martin, or Jamaica, or even Hawaii....requires a covid 19 vaccine? Islands are at a very high risk...a disease like covid could wipe out the entire island. So i fully expect once the covid 19 vaccine is available...it will be required.

It was my dream to go on a photo safari in Africa. I researched, I joined travel forums, I asked for advice. Several countries in Africa require a yellow fever shot. It is very controversial...especially for folks over 60. It can even cause death...But if you go to South Africa, they can and do require proof that you have had the shot. We could have taken the chance and NOT gotten the very expensive, hard to find inoculation....but we could have also been denied entry. So...because it was important to us to travel to South Africa...we got the shot.... By the way...we had absolutely no side effects from the yellow fever shot.

So the question becomes...Will you get the shot or no longer travel? I will be first in line to get it. There is no right or wrong answer to this question. There is the right answer for you.

I'll for sure get the vaccine and I can see if this virus is still raging countries will start requiring it before travel and entrance.

I fully expect the vaccine to be a requirement to visit most countries, and frankly, I don't think I'd visit a country where it wasn't required.

Cathy--we went to South Africa in 2004, and did not have to have a yellow fever shot. Must be new since then. I would definitely have gotten it, if it were required for there, and I will get the Covid 19 shot, regardless of whether it is required to travel or not.

Wow, I had no idea that the Yellow Fever vaccine was controversial! I had to have one to travel to Peru in 2006 (I was 50 at the time), it was easy to get by appointment at the local travel clinic (in a town of 10,000), I think it cost around $150 (my health insurance covered it) and the vaccine certificate of proof was stamped in my passport and off I went, without any issues.

So there is certainly precedence with countries requiring a specific vaccine for entry.

In this day and age everything is controversial....lol

We got our yellow fever shot June 2019. I was 64 my husband was 67. There is only one place to get it in our state....Passport health. It cost us $875 for two yellow fever shots and two typhoid shots. Insurance paid nothing.

It says it is good for the rest of our lives...however many countries require a vaccination every 10 years. We plan to travel to several places where it is required...so it was a good decision for us.

https://whdh.com/news/coronavirus-is-getting-weaker-could-disappear-without-vaccine-doctor-suggests/

Dr. Suggest cv19 is getting weaker and could disappear without a vaccine... Big Pharma better hurry with this vaccine or their profits and stock will take a hit.

Believe what you want but there are so many opinions out there and so little scientific proof to substantiate some I'm cautious to believe them.

Martini--It feels weaker here in Florida, with another 9,500 cases today. Not..

Interesting 2finger. From your reply, I am assuming that you do not plan to get the vaccination. Since COVID-19 is affecting the entire earth as we know it, I would think that any country would require that you have had the vaccination (once it becomes available) before entry.

Does a Gov. have the right to declare ownership over your body? The saying for the "Greater Good" could be used here. NO Travel unless you have had the Covid19 vaccine could be used as well. If the vaccine works there will be no reason to force it on people. I don't have a problem with elbow room keeping strangers away from me or wearing a mask but "my body my choice" needs to go along with that.

Martini--this is not a topic that is appropriate for this forum. Not going there..

USA schools have a whole list of inoculations a child needs to enter the classroom. USA immigration has a whole list of inoculations required to enter the country. NO one can force anyone to get these vaccines...but there is a price to pay if you don't. It is quite simple...you cannot enter.

Right now...today...there are STATES in the USA that will not allow you to cross the state lines unless you quarantine for 2 weeks.

Freedom comes with a price...it is not free. We all must play by the rules in order to have freedom.

I understand completely that folks have the choice to get vaccines...I support their choice. I also completely understand that my rights are not more important than anyone else's. I have the power to say no thank you I will not get the vaccine....and they have the choice to say you cannot enter.

Millions of people choose to get the flu shot every year...millions choose not to. At any given time...governments could make it mandatory that you receive the flu shot in order to enter their country. You either comply or you stay home.

The freedom of choice.