CLINICAL MATTER

Just a little over a year ago, on April 7, 2022, I embarked on my first post-lockdown international travel after two long years. The destination was Vancouver in Canada to attend the TED 2022 conference. Prior to that conference, my last international travel was January 2020 after which the lockdowns happened and the whole world shut down.
As I was leaving the country, many people were following my progress to see if it was indeed safe to travel again. I was kind of a human guinea pig. Or, as one doctor put it, like the dove from Noah’s Ark—if something bad happened, well, they’ll just move on to the next animal. I recall at that time the airports were not crowded at all, in contrast to the bedlam that we just saw this Holy Week. Everyone wore masks and kept their distance. The airline personnel meticulously checked vaccination cards. Predeparture tests were still required in many countries, although Canada had just stopped requiring them at the time of my first international trip. A predeparture test was still required by the Philippines on entry so I would need to get tested prior to my return flight.
I accessed the airport lounge and there was no buffet spread. All you got was a QR code that you scanned for the menu, from which you picked your order, prompting a masked waiter to bring it to you. The lounge was also eerily empty. On my subsequent trips, the lounges once again have sumptuous buffets and they are full to bursting. In some instances, you can’t even find a seat and they’ve had to turn away some customers.

Everyone wore masks on the plane at that time, but when I got to Vancouver masking was optional and mostly everyone took them off. Nowadays, masks are no longer required at the airport or on the plane. Many airlines, however, still encourage people to wear them. When I got to Canada in 2022, the event I was attending required testing onsite and more than a few people tested positive and needed to be isolated. Imagine traveling from far away, only to end up locked up in your hotel room or a government facility. Luckily, I tested negative and I was able to attend the conference.
This is why many countries have done away with pre-departure and on-arrival testing. People are reluctant to travel in the event they test positive and end up not being able to proceed with their plans. This made sense prior to widespread vaccination, since Covid-19 was much more deadly then and it was important to slow down the entry of variants of concern from abroad. Nowadays, with the high uptake of vaccination, the impact is much less severe and the healthcare systems of most countries are able to cope.
On the way back to the Philippines in 2022, I still had to take a predeparture test in Canada and thankfully, it was negative. Unfortunately, some people from my conference tested positive anew. Most were asymptomatic or only had mild symptoms, however, since most attendees were fully vaccinated. It was still a big hassle because their flights had to be rescheduled and they had to be isolated for extra days before going home. Taking all these issues into consideration and understanding that Covid-19 is a much less deadly disease with widespread vaccination, most countries have now completely dropped testing. The US continues to require proof of vaccination for foreigners but most countries no longer check.
Now, we are nearly back to normal in terms of international travel. Covid-19, however, continues to circulate along with other respiratory diseases and these can still disrupt travel plans. These are my recommendations to make yourself as safe as possible. 1\. Continue bringing a mask \(and spare masks\) and consider wearing it in places that are crowded and have inadequate air circulation\. These include any long\-haul air travel and while waiting for your flight at the airport\. Masks decrease the risk of acquiring not just Covid\-19 but other respiratory viruses\. Even if you don’t get Covid\-19\, coughing and sneezing from a cold virus will still disrupt your travel plans and you may end up getting stopped and tested by travel authorities\. It will also get you some bad looks from fellow travelers\. 2\. Bring proof of vaccination in case these are randomly checked\. While your final destination may not require it\, some transit hubs might still randomly check vaccination status\. 3\. Bring a Covid\-19 rapid antigen self\-test kit in case you become symptomatic\. Some countries will stop you if you have symptoms and they may require a test\. It is also useful if you have chronic allergies and the test can help distinguish your usual rhinitis from Covid\-19\. 4\. Buy travel insurance and make sure it covers Covid\-19\. Some countries still require this\, and in the event that you test positive and have your travel disrupted\, the insurance can cover many unforeseen costs\. 5\. Bring a medicine kit that includes medicine for allergies and cold\-like symptoms\, especially if you frequently suffer from these ailments\. Don’t forget to bring enough supply of your maintenance medication if you have a chronic condition like hypertension or diabetes\. Medicine in other countries can be hard to get and may be much more expensive\. 6\. Don’t forget to get enough rest when traveling\. Too little sleep lowers your immune system and makes you more prone to infections\, including Covid\-19\. Bring an eye cover when traveling to help you sleep\, especially when it isn’t dark enough in order to maximize restful sleep\. 7\. Get your flu shot and any other vaccinations that are due before traveling\. If you are over 50 years of age\, strongly consider getting the pneumonia vaccine\. Ask your doctor for proper guidance\. 8\. Drink enough fluids on the plane\, especially on long haul flights\. Cabin air is very dry and it is easy to get dehydrated\. 9\. Get up and walk during long\-haul flights to prevent blood clots\. Get enough exercise every day since this helps prevent jet lag\. 10\. Watch what you eat and go easy on the alcohol\. Following these health tips can help ensure a restful and relaxing vacation we venture out once more into the world. Safe travels.