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I work on cruise ships. We can’t get back to normal if we can’t require vaccines.
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Michael Ejercito
Jun 18, 2021, 11:30:14 AM6/18/21
to
https://archive.is/nrEKS
I work on cruise ships. We can’t get back to normal if we can’t require
vaccines.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s standing up for the industry, but
he’s wrong
Image without a caption
The Symphony of the Seas cruise ship docks in Miami in May 2020. Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants to ban businesses from requiring proof of
vaccination against the coronavirus, including cruise ships. (Wilfredo
Lee/AP)
Image without a caption
By Alissa Musto
Alissa Musto is a musician, singer and songwriter who has entertained
audiences around the world as a guest entertainer on luxury cruise
ships. She is a former Miss Massachusetts and Miss America finalist and
has a master's degree in music business and entertainment industries
from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music.
June 16, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. UTC
26
I got the coronavirus vaccine as soon as I could, in early April. I had
my concerns, and the side effects were rough, but I accepted them as a
small price to pay for the world to resume — and for me to get back to
work. I play piano and sing on cruise ships, and I haven’t been able to
set foot on deck for over a year. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been
following the news and secret Facebook groups for cruise workers, hoping
for signs of our industry’s return.
I was pretty discouraged when I saw Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ban
businesses from requiring proof of vaccination from customers. This
would mean cruise lines face up to $5,000 in fines for each passenger
they ask. I fear that this policy will drag down an industry that’s
already been treading water for 15 months. Everyone who works on a
cruise ship — and, I’d bet, most passengers, too — want to know that the
people onboard with us don’t pose an unnecessary risk to our health and
safety. If cruise lines can’t protect the safety of passengers and crew
and make people feel confident about booking their vacations, we’ll
never get back to normal. Right now, I believe requiring passengers and
crew to be vaccinated is our best chance at returning to normalcy.
I’ve greatly respected DeSantis’s efforts to advocate for the cruise
industry and keep Florida’s economy going during the pandemic. After my
cruise contracts evaporated virtually overnight, I couldn’t find work in
my home state: Massachusetts had banned indoor singing. After visiting a
friend in Tampa in October, I was amazed to see performance venues open
and holding auditions. I landed a role in a popular piano show three
nights a week. That gig was my lifeline, and I ended up moving here.
This was only possible because of Florida’s ability to set its own
coronavirus restrictions.
But the state’s new policy hampers private businesses and overrides
their rights. I don’t believe that anyone should be mandated to get the
vaccine, but companies already have the right to set health standards
for their employees: Even before the pandemic, I had to pass an
extremely thorough seafarer medical evaluation, including records of
other non-coronavirus vaccinations and vision and hearing tests, to work
onboard. On each ship, there are strict health protocols in place. Upon
embarking, I am required to undergo rigorous health and safety trainings
and drills, as is every single crew member. Failing to report symptoms
of illness is a fireable offense.
So I don’t believe it’s unreasonable for cruise lines to ask guests for
proof of vaccination. Companies should get to decide which clients they
will or won’t serve (unless they’re discriminating by race, gender, age,
sexual identity, disability or other protected reasons). Unvaccinated
customers present more of a risk than vaccinated ones.
[Cruise lines sell us a floating paradise. Coronavirus shows it was
always a lie.]
When it comes to cruises, what happens in Florida does not stay in
Florida. Every single Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean cruise
docks in at least one foreign port. There’s no telling what unvaccinated
guests may be exposed to in those ports, what risks they’ll pose to
locals or what they’ll bring back with them.
Cruises also employ a huge number of crew members from all over the
world, including countries without much vaccine access and where
coronavirus cases have stayed high. These crew members are required to
be vaccinated to work on board, so their personal risk of getting
seriously ill is low. However, while the vaccines appear to prevent
people from transmitting the virus, they may still worry about spreading
the virus to unvaccinated loved ones and their communities — especially
in places that don’t have the same health care infrastructure or access
that we have in the States. My co-workers already sacrifice so much by
leaving their families and homes for up to nine months at a time. They
shouldn’t have to fear coming to work or returning home.
Vaccine requirements make sense for our industry: People live in very
close quarters on ships. For some travelers, that’s part of the appeal —
the opportunities to gather with, and befriend, strangers during a
voyage. My job involves a lot of close contact: I play music in crowded
bars and packed auditoriums at night, and I’m expected to be “on” and
presentable during the day, mingling with guests over meals or in other
common spaces. Vacation is about relaxation: It’s hard to imagine
customers signing up for a cruise if they’re worried about viral spread
and can’t fully enjoy the ship’s amenities, like gathering in a
restaurant or a nightclub or laying maskless by the pool.
With everything that’s happened during the pandemic, cruise lines have
even more reason to make customers feel confident about traveling with
them. Some of the most publicized early coronavirus outbreaks, in
February and March 2020, happened on cruise ships. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention imposed a No Sail order and, in the fall,
issued a report blaming the industry for the widespread transmission of
the virus. Now, with vaccinations rising, and case counts dropping,
cruise lines have been following new CDC guidelines that will permit
them to set sail — including a requirement that 98 percent of crew and
95 percent of passengers be fully vaccinated to board a cruise.
[Yes, it’s legal for businesses and schools to require you to get a
coronavirus vaccine]
Florida’s policy clashes with those preparations — and with federal
guidance — and it may end up hurting the state. In 2019, the cruise
industry contributed almost 159,000 jobs and $8.1 billion in income to
Florida, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.
Already, some cruise lines have said that they’ll shift voyages to other
states or the Caribbean to avoid DeSantis’s ban.
I’ve worked on cruises whose itineraries brought us to Australia during
its worst-ever wildfire season, Hawaii during a hurricane, New Zealand
during deadly volcano eruptions and Alaska during record-breaking forest
fires. Each time, I felt safely insulated — even weirdly dissociated —
from the world while onboard the ships where I live and work. To me,
cruises have generally felt like an escape from even the most dire
circumstances. I have always felt safe, and I’m proud that we have been
able to guarantee guests that same sense of security; regardless of the
scenario, we are equipped and prepared. But this pandemic has been the
exception. If the government prevents ships from taking the proper
safety precautions, the inevitable reality is either a coronavirus
outbreak or a further delay in the return to sailing.
Performing on cruise ships was a dream come true for me — a chance to
see the world while doing what I loved most. “Ship life” is an
experience almost impossible to explain to those on the outside. I
didn’t just work onboard. This is where I lived. This is where my
friends were. This is where my life was. The people I met onboard, both
passengers and fellow crew, weren’t just customers and co-workers — they
were my neighbors, the people I spent holidays and birthdays with, the
shoulders I cried on.
I, like thousands of others, fled to Florida during the pandemic to
dodge the stringent restrictions that were preventing me from pursuing
my career and any sense of normal life. Now, I just hope Florida’s new
policies won’t stand in the way of my colleagues and me getting back to
work — and the lives we’ve had to put on hold for the past 15 months.
As told to Post editor Sophia Nguyen.
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
I work on cruise ships. We can’t get back to normal if we can’t require
vaccines.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s standing up for the industry, but
he’s wrong
Image without a caption
The Symphony of the Seas cruise ship docks in Miami in May 2020. Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants to ban businesses from requiring proof of
vaccination against the coronavirus, including cruise ships. (Wilfredo
Lee/AP)
Image without a caption
By Alissa Musto
Alissa Musto is a musician, singer and songwriter who has entertained
audiences around the world as a guest entertainer on luxury cruise
ships. She is a former Miss Massachusetts and Miss America finalist and
has a master's degree in music business and entertainment industries
from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music.
June 16, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. UTC
26
I got the coronavirus vaccine as soon as I could, in early April. I had
my concerns, and the side effects were rough, but I accepted them as a
small price to pay for the world to resume — and for me to get back to
work. I play piano and sing on cruise ships, and I haven’t been able to
set foot on deck for over a year. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve been
following the news and secret Facebook groups for cruise workers, hoping
for signs of our industry’s return.
I was pretty discouraged when I saw Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ban
businesses from requiring proof of vaccination from customers. This
would mean cruise lines face up to $5,000 in fines for each passenger
they ask. I fear that this policy will drag down an industry that’s
already been treading water for 15 months. Everyone who works on a
cruise ship — and, I’d bet, most passengers, too — want to know that the
people onboard with us don’t pose an unnecessary risk to our health and
safety. If cruise lines can’t protect the safety of passengers and crew
and make people feel confident about booking their vacations, we’ll
never get back to normal. Right now, I believe requiring passengers and
crew to be vaccinated is our best chance at returning to normalcy.
I’ve greatly respected DeSantis’s efforts to advocate for the cruise
industry and keep Florida’s economy going during the pandemic. After my
cruise contracts evaporated virtually overnight, I couldn’t find work in
my home state: Massachusetts had banned indoor singing. After visiting a
friend in Tampa in October, I was amazed to see performance venues open
and holding auditions. I landed a role in a popular piano show three
nights a week. That gig was my lifeline, and I ended up moving here.
This was only possible because of Florida’s ability to set its own
coronavirus restrictions.
But the state’s new policy hampers private businesses and overrides
their rights. I don’t believe that anyone should be mandated to get the
vaccine, but companies already have the right to set health standards
for their employees: Even before the pandemic, I had to pass an
extremely thorough seafarer medical evaluation, including records of
other non-coronavirus vaccinations and vision and hearing tests, to work
onboard. On each ship, there are strict health protocols in place. Upon
embarking, I am required to undergo rigorous health and safety trainings
and drills, as is every single crew member. Failing to report symptoms
of illness is a fireable offense.
So I don’t believe it’s unreasonable for cruise lines to ask guests for
proof of vaccination. Companies should get to decide which clients they
will or won’t serve (unless they’re discriminating by race, gender, age,
sexual identity, disability or other protected reasons). Unvaccinated
customers present more of a risk than vaccinated ones.
[Cruise lines sell us a floating paradise. Coronavirus shows it was
always a lie.]
When it comes to cruises, what happens in Florida does not stay in
Florida. Every single Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean cruise
docks in at least one foreign port. There’s no telling what unvaccinated
guests may be exposed to in those ports, what risks they’ll pose to
locals or what they’ll bring back with them.
Cruises also employ a huge number of crew members from all over the
world, including countries without much vaccine access and where
coronavirus cases have stayed high. These crew members are required to
be vaccinated to work on board, so their personal risk of getting
seriously ill is low. However, while the vaccines appear to prevent
people from transmitting the virus, they may still worry about spreading
the virus to unvaccinated loved ones and their communities — especially
in places that don’t have the same health care infrastructure or access
that we have in the States. My co-workers already sacrifice so much by
leaving their families and homes for up to nine months at a time. They
shouldn’t have to fear coming to work or returning home.
Vaccine requirements make sense for our industry: People live in very
close quarters on ships. For some travelers, that’s part of the appeal —
the opportunities to gather with, and befriend, strangers during a
voyage. My job involves a lot of close contact: I play music in crowded
bars and packed auditoriums at night, and I’m expected to be “on” and
presentable during the day, mingling with guests over meals or in other
common spaces. Vacation is about relaxation: It’s hard to imagine
customers signing up for a cruise if they’re worried about viral spread
and can’t fully enjoy the ship’s amenities, like gathering in a
restaurant or a nightclub or laying maskless by the pool.
With everything that’s happened during the pandemic, cruise lines have
even more reason to make customers feel confident about traveling with
them. Some of the most publicized early coronavirus outbreaks, in
February and March 2020, happened on cruise ships. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention imposed a No Sail order and, in the fall,
issued a report blaming the industry for the widespread transmission of
the virus. Now, with vaccinations rising, and case counts dropping,
cruise lines have been following new CDC guidelines that will permit
them to set sail — including a requirement that 98 percent of crew and
95 percent of passengers be fully vaccinated to board a cruise.
[Yes, it’s legal for businesses and schools to require you to get a
coronavirus vaccine]
Florida’s policy clashes with those preparations — and with federal
guidance — and it may end up hurting the state. In 2019, the cruise
industry contributed almost 159,000 jobs and $8.1 billion in income to
Florida, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.
Already, some cruise lines have said that they’ll shift voyages to other
states or the Caribbean to avoid DeSantis’s ban.
I’ve worked on cruises whose itineraries brought us to Australia during
its worst-ever wildfire season, Hawaii during a hurricane, New Zealand
during deadly volcano eruptions and Alaska during record-breaking forest
fires. Each time, I felt safely insulated — even weirdly dissociated —
from the world while onboard the ships where I live and work. To me,
cruises have generally felt like an escape from even the most dire
circumstances. I have always felt safe, and I’m proud that we have been
able to guarantee guests that same sense of security; regardless of the
scenario, we are equipped and prepared. But this pandemic has been the
exception. If the government prevents ships from taking the proper
safety precautions, the inevitable reality is either a coronavirus
outbreak or a further delay in the return to sailing.
Performing on cruise ships was a dream come true for me — a chance to
see the world while doing what I loved most. “Ship life” is an
experience almost impossible to explain to those on the outside. I
didn’t just work onboard. This is where I lived. This is where my
friends were. This is where my life was. The people I met onboard, both
passengers and fellow crew, weren’t just customers and co-workers — they
were my neighbors, the people I spent holidays and birthdays with, the
shoulders I cried on.
I, like thousands of others, fled to Florida during the pandemic to
dodge the stringent restrictions that were preventing me from pursuing
my career and any sense of normal life. Now, I just hope Florida’s new
policies won’t stand in the way of my colleagues and me getting back to
work — and the lives we’ve had to put on hold for the past 15 months.
As told to Post editor Sophia Nguyen.
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
HeartDoc Andrew
Jun 18, 2021, 11:45:18 AM6/18/21
to
the U.S. & elsewhere is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
finding out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who
among us are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or
asymptomatic) in order to http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John
15:12) for them to call their doctor and self-quarantine per their
doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic. Thus, we're hoping for the
best while preparing for the worse-case scenario of the Alpha lineage
mutations and others like the Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota, & Delta
lineage mutations combining to form hybrids that render current COVID
vaccines no longer effective.
Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://bit.ly/EternalMedicalLicense
2016 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://bit.ly/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
Michael Ejercito
Jun 18, 2021, 12:49:00 PM6/18/21
to
Michael
HeartDoc Andrew
Jun 18, 2021, 1:08:47 PM6/18/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
> I am wonderfully hungry!
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT
from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT
from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
Klaus Schadenfreude
Jun 18, 2021, 7:45:33 PM6/18/21
to
On Fri, 18 Jun 2021 13:10:01 -0400, Red-faced with embarrassment at
being both unable and unwilling to defend his false claims and
Biblical lies, disgraced ex-doctor Andrew Ben Hua Chung, desperately
clinging to his fake "wonderfully hungry" tactic, once again displayed
his probable frontal-lobe damage by refusing to directly respond to
anyone's challenges to his psychotic behavior and insane, made-up
philosophy when he responded with his usual boilerplate, cut 'n' paste
links to his own lies by posting:
>While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
>8:3) us to hunger
The lack of food causes one to hunger, not the Holy Spirit.
>, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
>COVID-19
You have no way of knowing this.
>Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
>diabetics and other heart disease patients:
No, being hungry is NOT healthy.
Anyone who determines how much they should eat by weight is an idiot.
Any medical professional who does should have their license revoked.
Furthermore... oh.
Wait.
You DID have your license revoked, didn't you Andy?
Laugh laugh laugh laugh.
Why can't ex-doctor Andrew Chung practice medicine any more?
Ex-Doctor Andy's Georgia Medical License- REVOKED!
ttps://gcmb.mylicense.com/verification
Name: Andrew Ben-Hua Chung
Designation: MD
Lic #: 40347
Profession: Physician
Status: Lapsed
Issued: 8/3/1995
Expires: 7/31/2017
Street Address: 5701 Mableton Parkway 2 B
MABLETON GA 30126
County: Cobb
Country: United States
Public Document 04-40347
Ex-Doctor Andy's Florida Medical License- NULL AND VOID!
https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/HealthcareProviders/LicenseVerification?LicInd=79280&Procde=1501&org=%20
ANDREW BEN-HUA CHUNG
License Number: ME82604
Data As Of 2/5/2021
Profession: Medical Doctor
License: ME82604
License Status: NULL AND VOID
License Expiration Date: 1/31/2002
License Original Issue Date: 06/04/2001
ANDREW BEN-HUA CHUNG
CENTRAL FLORIDA HEART CENTER
3310 SW 34TH STREET
OCALA, FL 34474
being both unable and unwilling to defend his false claims and
Biblical lies, disgraced ex-doctor Andrew Ben Hua Chung, desperately
clinging to his fake "wonderfully hungry" tactic, once again displayed
his probable frontal-lobe damage by refusing to directly respond to
anyone's challenges to his psychotic behavior and insane, made-up
philosophy when he responded with his usual boilerplate, cut 'n' paste
links to his own lies by posting:
>While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
>8:3) us to hunger
>, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
>COVID-19
>Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
>diabetics and other heart disease patients:
Anyone who determines how much they should eat by weight is an idiot.
Any medical professional who does should have their license revoked.
Furthermore... oh.
Wait.
You DID have your license revoked, didn't you Andy?
Laugh laugh laugh laugh.
Why can't ex-doctor Andrew Chung practice medicine any more?
Ex-Doctor Andy's Georgia Medical License- REVOKED!
ttps://gcmb.mylicense.com/verification
Name: Andrew Ben-Hua Chung
Designation: MD
Lic #: 40347
Profession: Physician
Status: Lapsed
Issued: 8/3/1995
Expires: 7/31/2017
Street Address: 5701 Mableton Parkway 2 B
MABLETON GA 30126
County: Cobb
Country: United States
Public Document 04-40347
Ex-Doctor Andy's Florida Medical License- NULL AND VOID!
https://mqa-internet.doh.state.fl.us/MQASearchServices/HealthcareProviders/LicenseVerification?LicInd=79280&Procde=1501&org=%20
ANDREW BEN-HUA CHUNG
License Number: ME82604
Data As Of 2/5/2021
Profession: Medical Doctor
License: ME82604
License Status: NULL AND VOID
License Expiration Date: 1/31/2002
License Original Issue Date: 06/04/2001
ANDREW BEN-HUA CHUNG
CENTRAL FLORIDA HEART CENTER
3310 SW 34TH STREET
OCALA, FL 34474
HeartDoc Andrew
Jun 18, 2021, 9:48:09 PM6/18/21
to
(Alissa) 06/18/21 Again praying as only a forever (Psalm 117) doctor
can with all glory ( http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD ...
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.bible.prophecy/c/8ecSm5ju5Zc/m/syhDrEztAgAJ
can with all glory ( http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD ...
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.bible.prophecy/c/8ecSm5ju5Zc/m/syhDrEztAgAJ
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