CDC lowers COVID vaccination threshold for cruises

As summer travelers prepare to sail, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is lowering its threshold for cruise ships to meet a “highly vaccinated” status.

The CDC updated its guidance Thursday for ships to be considered “highly vaccinated,” 90% of its passengers must be fully vaccinated while 95% of crew members must be fully vaccinated.

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The agency said it used existing COVID-19 data and models to update the policy.

The classifications are part of the CDC’s voluntary safety program for cruise ships, which was designed to replace its Conditional Sailing Order that expired in January.

Cruise lines that opted into the program share the vaccination status of each of their ships. When these cruise lines send the data, the CDC then posts the information along with the ship’s color status to indicate the number of COVID-19 cases reported on the ship.