Covid Vaccination for hosts in homeshares

[John-and-Sam0]

Will AirBnB add a prompt in listings asking if hosts in homeshares have been vaccinated?  It could help reassure prospective travellers to know that their hosts have received the vaccine.

[Helen3]

I'm not sure that's a good idea @John-and-Sam0 

1. We don't know yet whether having the Covid vaccine stops someone being able to pass on the virus so this wouldn't give guests much reassurance 

2. the vast majority in the UK have not yet had the vaccinated

3. some people for medical reasons can't have the vaccine

if you feel this would be a selling point for your guests you can always mention this on your listing. 

As we know anyway even if they did it would mean little . When hosts were forced to sign up to Covid cleaning regulations many did, but it's evident that not all implemented them. 

[John-and-Sam0]

Hi

Thanks for your thoughts.

1. Quote from WHO: “Getting vaccinated may also protect people around you, because if you are protected from getting infected and from disease, you are less likely to infect someone else.”

2. 25 million+  have already received their first vaccination dose in the UK. The numbers will be considerably higher (inc second dose) by the time UK homeshares reopen

3. Agreed – but I’m referring to those who can and have. I would think that hosts in homeshares who aren’t having the vaccine will need to think carefully about their exposure to covid risk.

We have put this on our listings.

I don’t agree it would mean little. I think most hosts, esp superhosts, are serious about the commitments they make on their listings. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be too difficult to create a system for lodging evidence of vaccination on the listings that would make it easy for travellers to check. I don’t think it should be compulsory, but I believe travellers should be given the opportunity able to make informed choices.

[Helen3]

Sorry I should have mentioned I have been working for the NHS on Covid programmes for the last year so have some knowledge around Covid @John-and-Sam0 

1. The word here is 'May' in the WHO statement  - we simply don't have the data to know for certain at this stage. The NHS advice is that those who have been vaccinated should still practice social distancing etc.

2. Most who have been vaccinated here are higher risk groups not likely to be in the travelling public. It's simply not true to say most will be vaccinated by the time we open in Mid May. The date the NHS is working to is July

3. Each country and area has different ways of recording vaccination records . We aren't part of the European Covid Vac passport so I think this would be difficult to manage. 

if you look at STR forums you will see many guests complainants about hosts including SH who are not abiding by the Airbnb Covid regulations. 

I say this as a home share host who has been vaccinated. 

[John-and-Sam0]

Well what do you know........

Covid: One dose of vaccine halves transmission - study

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56904993

[Till-and-Jutta0]

Seems that Airbnb indeed is aware of this and is working on tools accordingly:

https://news.airbnb.com/airbnb-announces-health-safety-attestation-to-support-responsible-travel/

Please see also the content policy regarding Covid related contents in your listing:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2741/content-policy-and-the-coronavirus

[Helen3]

@Till-and-Jutta0  - if you read what it says in the policy Airbnb have confirmed they will only look at requiring confirmation of vaccine status where country legislation requires it for accommodation providers . 

[John5097]

@John-and-Sam0   

According to the latest studies the existing vaccinations are far less effective for some of the variants. 

https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/542182-new-study-warns-pfizer-and-m...

"Moderna’s vaccine candidate was found to be 12.4 times less effective against the South African variant, and Pfizer’s was found to have a reduced effectiveness by about 10.3 times."

Moderna has already starting testing a booster to target variants, Pfizer is developing theirs, and all are planning to improve future vaccinations to protect against known variants, which keep cropping up like weeds. 

Although, I don't think home shares are necessarily a high risk if people take some basic precautions and not talk face to face. No one has suspended Uber where you are essentially driving around in a little petri dish. I think people have a basic right to live where they want. I just wanted to share some research that might help other host. A lot of vaccines are two shots, so even if host got their first shot next week, the second would take 14-28 more days then another month for T cells to develop resistance, and then another booster when its ready maybe at the end of the year. 

Edit: Hopefully they are more effective as this was a small study size, but all the of vaccines, such as AstraZeneca and J&J aren't as effective with various mutations.   

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/astrazeneca-vaccine-not-effective-south-africa    

[Helen3]

Personally I get my Covid information on these issues from the NHS, our government website, John Hopkins, imperial college London, WHO. 

sadly the media can have sensationalist coverage which can be factually inaccurate . @John5097  So isn't always a great source to quote. 

[John5097]

@Helen3 

The CDC classifies the B1.351 as a Variant of Concern. The sources I cited were published the Nature Journal as well as others. 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/variant-surveillance/variant-info.html

Variant of Concern:

"A variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures."

For it to become a Variant of High Consiqunce: 

"A variant of high consequence has clear evidence that prevention measures or medical countermeasures (MCMs) have significantly reduced effectiveness relative to previously circulating variants."

All of the pharmaceutical companies that developed the vaccines have verified that they aren't as effective with the B.1.351 variant but as I included the preliminary testing are limited, hence Variant of Concern. 

The reason its worth considering is that most of the people vaccinated so far are highest risk and were told the vaccine was 95% effective, so should be aware that data suggest it may only !0% effective against the B1.351 varriant and a booster may be required, which has already been developed and is already being tested by Moderna. 

So thanks for clarifying I would also want to get my data from the CDC and not Airbnb and make my one decisions. I also wouldn't want host or guest to think they are 95% protected when that might not be the case. 

[Sarah977]

@John5097  The second vaccination is going to be spaced a lot longer from the first than 14-28 days in many places now. 3-4 months. Not only is there not enough vaccines available to give a second round before everyone who wants a jab to get the first one, I'm reading that is being recommended as giving more immunity. 

So realistically, I think it's going to be late summer or autumn (in the northern hemisphere) before a significant number of people have been fully vaccinated.

[Kia272]

@Sarah977  Just scrolling through and saw this as I'm lying in bed. Why am I lying in bed? I just had my THIRD Moderna Covid Vaccine shot and I'm feeling pretty darn yucky.

When I participated in the clinical trial, they had not yet finalized the dosage amount. It turns out we received under the recommended amount, and so NIH (National Institute of Health) decided to provide us with a booster shot to bring us up to the recommended dosage. They actually extended the trial to follow all of us through this booster. 

Why am I boring you with all this? Because it's been about 8.5 months since I received my second shot. I had little to no reaction with the first and second shots, but this third one has hit hard. I'm glad to know that my immune system has kicked in to action, but I'm not enjoying the effects at all.....truly not. Hence the lying in bed in the middle of the afternoon. 

Just FYI speaking to the spacing out of the length between shots......

[Sarah977]

@Kia272  Oh, I hope you feel better soon. I didn't know you were in a trial group. I guess there's a lot of unknowns with these vaccines, since it's all so new.  Brave of you to be a guinea pig.

I have a friend who was in a trial group for the Hep C medication. They were using 2 medications in tandem for her group, one of which made her feel awful- total brain fog and crazy thoughts. They found out from the trial that the part that was affecting her that way, as well as some others, wasn't really necessary- the one medication without the other did cure Hep C. So while it was miserable for her at the time, she is Hep C-free now.

[Kia272]

@Sarah977  Actually, I don't feel brave in any way. I have a lot of confidence in the science and protocols practiced at NIH. We DO have a vaccine development history to work with, and a basic understanding of the MRNA vaccine gave me confidence that I was participating in a safe approach to a working vaccine via this clinical trial. It wasn't like they were starting with snake oil and going from there. There is a scientific basis for all of this. 

People forget that pretty much everything medicinal that they pop in to their mouths, be it over the counter or prescription, was in a clinical trial at some point. Hence your friend's experience with the Hep C medication. 

Not preaching, just pondering.

But it was very interesting to me that I had almost no reaction to the first two shots- spaced one month apart, and such a strong reaction to the "booster" 8 months later. I felt bad, but was happy to have my immune system kicking in to high gear. 

[John5097]

@Sarah977 I was able to schedule both Modernia vaccinations at the same time on the CVS app. It was the only option I was given exactly 28 days apart.

Its in the CDC info
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/moderna/index.html

The first one will be on Monday. Its the only option to schedule a vaccination.  If there is only one shot available at a pharmacy it won't let someone with no vaccine schedule it. 

Also to follow up, the finding about the variant effectiveness was an Oxford study. Its more effective against the UK and South American, and less effective against South African. But that was just for mild to moderate symptoms and just a snap shot in one day. But it was an Oxford study that was also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. So expect booster shots. 

I was just adding that info in context to if Airbnb should include a check box that host were vaccinated to encourage guest to travel in the first post. Right now it seems like it would be confusing. 

But you are right some people have only gotten one shot so far. Most places are still limiting supplies for people to get their second shot, so suppose they didn't schedule both at the same time, then some didn't get around to it. 

On a side note all the bars opened up with no restrictions last week a we are seeing a spike today. Also people partying for SPD so likely going to see a jump with that. Its really unpredictable but had it under control with some restrictions on bars locally. Rooms at hotels, home sharing, and such haven't been a contributing factor at all and haven't had any restrictions here the entire time. If anything it gave people an option to distance away from teenage family members.