Vaccine tourism? Let's see how fast I can pack my bag and grab my passport.
If the U.S. has vaccine to spare and Canada is still struggling, many of us will look south for a jab and some peace of mind.
A few months ago, I wrote here about how strange it was to stand on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, close enough to America to actually see Americans, and know I could not go there. My entire life, the United States has been an extension of my own country. I was Canadian, proudly so, but the U.S. was a friendly, fun place to visit. It's like those friendships that result in you just sort of being absorbed by another family, with full fridge-access privileges. A lot of Canadians feel that way about the U.S., which might explain why we're so sensitive to any perceived slight by our other family.
I've been thinking a lot about travel to the U.S. lately. Not in a whimsical, if-only way, but very pragmatically. Will it be possible to get a vaccine there sooner than in Canada?
It'll depend, of course. The U.S.'s own vaccination program isn't exactly batting a thousand. But Canada's isn't going great, either, and Pfizer has announced that it'll be limiting new shipments to Canada while it expands production capacity. This is only supposed to disrupt Canadian shipments for about a month, and Pfizer says the expanded capacity will let it make up the difference with faster shipments by the end of the first quarter. Maybe, but maybe not. And even if Canada sticks to the plan, guys like me — not high risk or high priority, but with a life I'd like to get back to living — are going to be waiting a long time for a shot or two. September is the target date, on paper, but it's not hard to imagine that sliding. Everything else has, thus far.
So let's consider a few scenarios. The first is that Canada gets its act together on vaccines — the feds procure sufficient supply and the provinces figure out how to distribute it. In that scenario, no problem. We all just wait patiently like good Canadians and get our shots in appropriate sequence. Another scenario is that the incoming Biden administration isn't able to meaningfully improve the situation in the U.S., or at least not fast enough to matter for Canadians. In this scenario, too, we just sit and wait, for lack of a better option.
But consider a third scenario: the U.S. gets their vaccine situation under control, and Canada is still struggling, or lagging far behind. In this situation, vaccines are available in the U.S. for all who want them, but millions of Canadians are months away from getting theirs.
Some percentage of those Canadians are going to go south to get their shots. If it makes sense logistically, I'll happily go myself.
The logistics will matter. With three- or four-week separations between the two doses for Moderna and Pfizer, it might not really make sense. You'd spend so much time in quarantine after each trip, or you'd need the ability to just live in the U.S. for the month. That's doable, but for many Canadians, either plan would be a burden that's more hassle than it's worth. But with Johnson and Johnson apparently close to having their single-shot vaccine ready, and with early reports suggesting it's highly safe and effective, this could be a huge change.
I'm a two-hour drive from New York State. I'm four hours from Detroit by car. I'm a short flight from the entire continental United States. If there were single dose shots available and if I could book my appointment online, then fly down, get the shot and return home? A two-week quarantine in the comfort of my own home would be a price I'd happily pay. And I won't be alone.
If the U.S. gets better at vaccines and Canada doesn't, this will happen. There's unanswered questions, still, such as what restrictions will be put on Canadians entering the U.S., and whether Canadian health authorities will recognize American proof-of-vax paperwork. (I can't see any rational reason they wouldn't, but I could see a degree of spite factoring in.) And there'll be the societal and equity issues that come up. I can just imagine the collective horror in certain segments of the Canadian chattering classes as those of us who can afford to jet south for a shot and then fly home, to isolate in comfort in detached houses or even, God forbid, cottages.
As for my own feelings on the fairness of it all, I'd refer you back to something I wrote here a few months ago: privileged people enjoy their privileges, no matter what performative guilt they feel obliged to feign for the benefit of interviewers. If this becomes feasible, a whole bunch of Canadians who have all the right views on equity and social justice and inclusion will find ways to rationalize jetting south to get their jab.
I'm a capitalist at heart and I can already see how savvy American companies will play this, if they can secure vaccine. I can see whole travel packages popping up for purchase: flight from a major Canadian airport to a destination in the U.S., overnight stay in a hotel, a nurse coming to your suite to handle your injections, and then a flight back home to begin your 14 days of isolation. All accommodation, travel and meals included!
Don't get me wrong. I'd just as soon get vaccinated at home and spare myself the expense and hassle of a trip. But if getting vaccinated in the U.S. becomes feasible months before I'll get vaccinated here? I'll go. Others will, too. And as awkward as our political leaders will find this conversation, they should start having it now.
They won't. But they should.
And now, time for the recap.
My weekly video at the Post was on election speculation. I'm not buying that one is likely, but hey.
Wrote a column for the Post on that same theme. Check that out here.
Also in the Post, my thoughts on Trump getting the boot from Twitter. It was warranted, I said. Even necessary. But it's going to make Twitter's life a lot more complicated as people, rightly and understandably, demand an even hand.
At TVO.org, where I'd been beating up on Premier Doug Ford for a while, I thought it was important to offer a limited defence — Ford has to own the mistakes he's made, I wrote, and that includes things he did not do, but should have. That being said, there's only so much any government can do to make people do the right thing. And that can get ugly in practice.
Later in the week, after the Ontario government announced new restrictions in Ontario, I wrote that only time will tell if the new measures work. That's a lousy summary; I promise the column is more interesting than that. Find out for yourself!
And as always, you can hear me each morning on Canada Talks, SiriusXM channel 167.
I expect to have some “personal news” announcements to make about my working life shortly — probably by the end of the month. So stay tuned for that. In the meantime, though, as always, thanks for reading. If you enjoyed it, please share widely, and sign up if you’re new. And, of course, take care and be well.
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