A few months ago, it had appeared in some countries of the Asia and of Oceania, the phenomenon of air travel to «nowhere». These journeys are a paradox, which is characteristic of an era in which societies have found themselves outside what they define as their normality.
Travelling for vaccination is not an impulse, since there are several coronavirus vaccines on the market. All those who can afford to pay for such a trip wish to return to the normality they were used to as quickly as possible.
This category of people cannot wait for the order set for them by the vaccination schedule of the country of which they are citizens. And they can afford to bypass it. This is the second category of citizens who can achieve it. The first concerns those who use various «means» and «windows» to bypass their turn.
From the US to the UAE, this the new phenomenon of vaccine tourism creates new business opportunities and is expanding to several countries.
THE LUXURY VACCINATION
Luxury vaccination occurs mainly in the UAE. The luxury travel agency Knightsbridge Circle in Britain, organizes trips to the United Arab Emirates, for tens of thousands of pounds, and its customers are vaccinated with the vaccine of the Chinese company Sinopharm.
The British company has not yet been able to gain access to its vaccine Pfizer, which is only available to UAE nationals and permanent residents.
In the USA, each state has its own vaccination programme. There are movements between states and some people take advantage of the «windows» in the procedures. However, Florida is the one that has emerged as the champion of vaccine tourism. In addition to Americans, Canadians, Brazilians and Argentines are arriving in Florida to get the vaccine from the Publix Super Markets chain, which has 730 stores in the state.
Americans and foreigners with vacation homes in the area have already received the vaccine, and it is estimated that more than 50,000 tourists have benefited. Due to the high turnout, the mayor of Miami has requested that proof that the person was in the state in the previous three months.
THE MEDIUM-TERM TOURISM
Russian tourism companies have started tourist tour programs that include the vaccination of foreign tourists with the vaccine Sputnik V. Although Moscow, in the autumn of 2020, had ruled out the possibility of vaccination for tourists, since the beginning of 2021 it has changed its position. The costs are around €3,000.
The pioneer in vaccination tourism is the Indian company Gem Tours & Travels. From November 2020 it is offering a package worth €1,700, including a 4-day trip from Mumbai to New York, with the vaccine and a ten-year visa included in the price.
Since mid-January, the Government of India has launched a programme aimed at vaccinating 300 million citizens, giving priority to vulnerable groups and health workers. For the rest who can afford it, there are agencies such as Gem Tours & Travels and Zenith Holidays, which offer trips to the US, Britain or Russia, with vaccination guaranteed.
THE SOCIALIST VERSION
Cuba has announced that its vaccine, Soberana 2, is in the final phase of development. Cuban scientists have developed 4 vaccines, of which Soberana 2 is in its final stage. It will be tested on 150,000 people in Cuba and Iran and is expected to be approved in April.
Soberana 2 needs three doses, but unlike Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, no need for freezing, which gives it a comparative advantage, mainly for its distribution to poor countries that lack the appropriate infrastructure.
Cuba has been investing in biotechnology since the 1980s in order to become self-sufficient in the pharmaceutical sector. However, US sanctions have made it difficult to access necessary raw materials and complicated to transport them.
The Cuban authorities have planned to produce 100 million doses of the vaccine, enough to cover the population of 11.3 million. Vaccination will be free of charge, but not compulsory.
The surplus of vaccines will be channelled to friendly countries such as Vietnam, Iran, India and Venezuela. But also to tourists who will visit the country from March onwards.
Havana has expectations of significant revenues from the vaccine, which will help avoid an economic disaster. But the biggest gamble is in the political arena. For a country that has long touted its developed health care system as proof of the benefits of socialism, the vaccine will provide a confirmation and a unique opportunity to improve its public image.
Vaccine tourism, apart from highlighting economic inequalities, also raises ethical issues. Those who can afford it can bypass their countries' vaccination procedures and get vaccinated before their normal turn. Probably, there are also legal issues.
However, in the world of globalised capitalism, morality has a relative importance. This is what the sisters of Spain's King Philip V, Princesses Elena and Christina of Bourbon, who were vaccinated in the UAE, bypassing the vaccination list in their country, wanted to show us.
By Spyros Axarlis
