The Millennium Hilton New York Downtown hotel is leaving the brand

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• Ken Snowdon says:

  23 Dec23 December 08:29

  From the EU site this seems to be for inter European travel as I read it, not for tourists. Can someone clarify?

  • sigma421 says:

    23 Dec23 December 08:45

    I think you’re right. Rules for entry to individual countries are in the hands of that member state. What the EU is saying here is that 2 vaccines without a subsequent booster will not allow people to generate a valid EU digital COVID certificate 9 months after dose 2. In theory, countries could allow entry from other EU states with some other kind of proof (or indeed none at all).

    Now there is every chance that EU countries will apply the same rules to those entering from outside the EU.but that’s not an EU competency. It can make recommendations but they don’t have to be followed. A good example of this is when the EU took the US off it’s green list during the Delta wave. Most countries didn’t follow

    • Rob says:

      23 Dec23 December 08:50

      The article doesn’t mention entry rules, but you would be banned from restaurants etc where these rules are now standardised. I have clarified the text.

• GERARD CREAMER says:

  23 Dec23 December 09:23

  What date did you find mellia Newcastle at 59, has a search and couldn’t find below 70.

  • Rob says:

    23 Dec23 December 10:18

    Says £59 on the Melia website sale page …

• Steve says:

  23 Dec23 December 09:27

  Even less incentive to get a booster now when not travelling, especially given the data on severity. For those who perhaps are not intending to travel until Easter, why have vaccination status start to expire when you can’t use it? No doubt this comment will get the pro-booster frothing at their gills…

  • Ben says:

    23 Dec23 December 10:14

    Couldnt agree more. Im 33 double jabed plus had covid. Will wait till I need to travel in the summer to get my booster.

    • YFP says:

      23 Dec23 December 12:19

      exactly that. you can already see the push for 4th jabs (2nd booster) for something that was originally sold as a 2 jab deal. not keen personally to keep getting jabbed. Might as well wait till needed for travel before booking booster

      • Max says:

        25 Dec25 December 01:08

        Head of EU von der Leyen has ordered 8 doses of vaccine per EU citizen plus options for another 6.
        Mind you, this was in mid-2020 when media was still propagating 1-2 doses of vaccine.
        Lonza (big Swiss Pharma company) has hired thousands of new people and invested billions of Euros into a new production facility to produce the Moderna vaccine. Does anyone really believe they’ll just shut it down once the whole world got vaccinated once?

        Vaccination is no longer just about health, it’s also BIG business now.

        Like with most apps in Apple’s/Google’s App Stores, switching from one-time-payments to long-term subscriptions with recurring revenue is the next step for Big Pharma’s business model.

  • Thegasman says:

    23 Dec23 December 10:42

    Depends if you view a booster as a means to travel or as a mechanism for lessening severity of Omicron if/when you catch it. Very good data to suggest double jabbed gives very little benefit.
    If you’re double jabbed then I also don’t understand reticence to get a booster? There’s no additional risk with further doses when looking at the significant side effects like myocarditis. I’d take a 6 monthly booster if that’s what is shown to maintain protection not that I think it will come to that as Covid continues to evolve.

    • YFP says:

      23 Dec23 December 12:18

      you don’t know that though about the additional risk. I’m double jabbed and have had COVID, so my personal reluctance is how boosters were originally for vulnerable people and 6 months from 2nd dose, but now it’s all changed because of the need for some sort of response. I never took flu jabs annually anyways, so I don’t fancy a repetitive jab schedule. I’m young, had my 2nd jab less than 6 months ago, won’t be queueing for boosters anytime soon until it starts to impact travel

      • Thegasman says:

        23 Dec23 December 14:55

        You don’t know that aliens won’t land in Trafalgar Square tomorrow & annihilate us all by dinner time but common sense & limited intellect tells us it’s very unlikely.

        It’s the same with vaccines, the odds of side effects suddenly appearing a year down the line or with repeated doses just doesn’t make sense. What’s the mechanism? I guarantee you’ve consumed many substances with a far less reliable testing & monitoring regime than these jabs!

        It is entirely up to you if you take the jab but equally it’s entirely up to democratically elected governments to decide that they don’t want you in their country if you haven’t had it.

        • John says:

          23 Dec23 December 17:17

          There is a side effect of feeling like crap for 24-48 hours after each vaccine. That doesn’t happen with a flu jab

        • Rob says:

          23 Dec23 December 17:47

          My original Astra’s had zero impact on me, and the Moderna booster had an incredibly minor, albeit noticeable, impact – perhaps the equivalent of drinking a pint the night before.

        • QwertyKnowsBest says:

          23 Dec23 December 17:33

          +1

        • ChrisC says:

          24 Dec24 December 01:47

          John people have the same reactions after flu and other vaccinations.

          Not everyone but some do. Just as some people have had reactions to the Covid jabs but some haven’t.

          I felt crap after last years flu jab but not this years.

          I felt crap after my first AZ dose but not after the second or after the booster.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      23 Dec23 December 16:46

      Read the studies on 2 jabs + natural infection.

      Jabs are not the only solution.

      Anyway the Pass will generate for those that have had positive Covid pcr in the past 6 months.

      • Thegasman says:

        23 Dec23 December 18:00

        If you think a dose of Covid is preferable & lower risk than a booster then that’s fine but wouldn’t be my choice!

        Immunity from infection will also wane so it’s not 1 bout & you’re sorted.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          23 Dec23 December 18:33

          99.9% of people that have been infected are absolutely fine after a few days.

          Having had 2 jabs. If you’re over 50 or otherwise at risk get your booster.

          At my age I’m firmly in the I’ll take my chances camp.

    • Mike says:

      23 Dec23 December 23:51

      @Thegasman
      Myocarditis is, based on the latest research, caused by the mRNA vaccine entering the bloodstream. The team that did the research suggested aspiration to reduce the risk, which is standard for vaccination in Japan, China, Thailand and many other countries. The WHO’s guidance, and UK gov follows the WHO’s 2005 guidance, is to not aspirate however this doesn’t take into account the difference between mRNA/viral vector vaccines and traditional vaccines. Aspiration costs nothing, can be done by trained monkeys and it’s shear utter hubris by the government that they haven’t updated the guidance.

      Based on what we know there is risk every time and contra to what you said, with Pfizer for example, the risk on the second dose was actually much higher than the first based on the figures from Israel and other countries.

      I say this as a vaccinated person, I’m not a vaccine skeptic, but what you stated is incorrect, I have no idea were you got your information.

  • Mark says:

    23 Dec23 December 17:44

    I’ve not seen anything though that says Omicron is intrinsically less severe. The lower levels of severe illness that the data indicates may be largely down to more people getting it who are double/triple vaccinated and/or have recently recovered from Delta. If that is the case by not having a booster you are likely foregoing an important element of the protection that drives that conclusion – just because there may be less severe illness doesn’t mean you won’t be seriously ill. The indications are that protection against contracting Omicron for people six months off double vaccination with Astra Zeneca particularly is limited to non-existent, and of course even if it doesn’t make you seriously ill you’ll still have the disruption of having to self-isolate. By increasing your risk of contracting it you also increase the risk of contributing to the problems created by the number of people self isolating, by being part of the transmission chain even if you don’t work in an essential service yourself. I suspect over the coming weeks that’s going to have a much bigger impact on the NHS than the volume of people requiring treatment. And if you do end up seriously ill, do you really want to take the chance your treatment is delayed or unavailable because there is no-one available to treat you?

    There are of course many ways to interpret and understand the data and analysis that comes from it, not all are correct or are necessarily in the best interests of the person making the call. But if you really want to ‘save’ your booster so its more likely to enable you to travel at the end of next year without having another in that time go ahead. 🙂

    • TGLoyalty says:

      23 Dec23 December 18:28

      You need to read the latest bbc article then

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59769969

      However, laboratory studies have also shown changes in how Omicron infects our bodies. It is better at infecting our airways rather than the deep tissues of the lungs – this could make it easier for the variant to spread, but milder as it is further away from the delicate parts of the lungs

      Would have saved you a lot of typing.

      • Mark says:

        23 Dec23 December 18:54

        I have read that article and I was already aware of that research 😉 Note that the paragraph you quoted says “could”, and I’m not saying it isn’t intrinsically less severe, just that there is little evidence and data still to back that up – the laboratory studies simply provide an explanation why it might. Certainly nothing that suggests that people being 50-70% less likely to be admitted to hospital is down to that rather than immunity from the vaccine or previous infection. In all likelihood it will be a mix of the two. I *hope* that the virus itself causing significantly less severe illness will be a significant part of that but at this stage we simply do not know.

        My main concern is really that if people use it as an excuse not to get vaccinated / have a booster in significant numbers that increases the likelihood that we will see more short-notice restrictions imposed in the coming weeks. Partly down to level of spread and the affects of that alone and partly down to hospitalisations which will be driven by high levels of spread even if a lower proportion of cases result in hospitalisation. I’m sure we can all agree we’d rather not see more restrictions to our daily lives, or to travel specifically.

        Regardless of whether you’re concerned for your own health, If you’re considering refusing the booster on that basis, is that really what you want?

        • Mark says:

          23 Dec23 December 18:56

          And always happy to type to address misunderstanding ./ misinformation… 😉

        • TGLoyalty says:

          23 Dec23 December 20:15

          I’m sure it is a mix of less severe, had jabs, had infections etc

          Over time this will become just another cold

          Re restrictions the world has shown it doesn’t actually matter how many people get a jab they’ll stick legal restrictions on regardless. 90% vulnerable boosted and look at wales / Scotland!

        • Luke says:

          23 Dec23 December 20:37

          Just out of interest do you have any expertise in this area?

        • Luke says:

          23 Dec23 December 20:38

          And this question is to…Mark?

• Patrick says:

  23 Dec23 December 09:36

  Vaxx or no vaxx, just bloody relax 🙂

• Mike says:

  23 Dec23 December 10:54

  Interesting comment about the “distinct lack of investment” in the Millennium New York Downtown. I am due to stay there for 4 nights after Christmas – Should I consider the Conrad Downtown instead?

  • Rob says:

    23 Dec23 December 11:36

    Conrad is ‘all suite’ so its a no-brainer anyway unless you desperately need a pool. The two are only 5 minutes walk apart. Quote from FlyerTalk from a stay last week – “it’s one of the more consistently disappointing properties I’ve stayed at (and the most recent stay being no exception with worn furniture, walls, a refrigerator that looked like it had been on the losing side of a cage match, and exposed electrical in one of the elevators)”.

• Paul says:

  23 Dec23 December 11:38

  Who knew individual EU nations could determine their entry requirements or manage their border!!

  I have both the German Covid Warn and French Anti Covid apps both of which take the NHS certificates. So while we cannot get a single EU Covid Passport any individual EU nation app has much the same effect.

  Those countries that have introduced restrictions on those who willfully refuse to vaccinate are on the right track I believe. The confused and chaotic system here don’t work. Just last night I I was at ROH Covent Garden for a production of Tosca. Sitting in a mask for 3 hours yet mingling mask-less in the bars during both intervals, made their use both unpleasant and a waste of time. The requirement to better ventilate meant it was also cold in the auditorium. From the swaths of empty seats many had obviously taken up the ROH offer to cancel when they jumped the gun and made mask wearing compulsory at the end of November.

  I think I will find it difficult now to return unless Covid passports are introduced and their use rigorously enforced and monitored until this public health emergency is at an end.

• David says:

  23 Dec23 December 14:56

  The *former* Century21 department store. It went bankrupt a few months back, another victim of covid.

  • Rob says:

    23 Dec23 December 15:52

    NOOOOOOOO …. I got a Cuccinelli jumper at about 80% off last time I was there in 2019. I always go there when in NY.

    • ChrisC says:

      23 Dec23 December 16:58

      But apparently they will be back somewhere …

      https://www.c21stores.com/

      I picked up all sorts of bargains there as well over 20 odd years of visiting NYC

      • yorkieflyer says:

        23 Dec23 December 22:59

        Probably online, a great proper old fashioned department store experience

        • yorkieflyer says:

          23 Dec23 December 22:59

          Was

    • yorkieflyer says:

      23 Dec23 December 22:58

      Absolutely gutted, loved it a NY must

    • Alex says:

      24 Dec24 December 01:04

      Have to say we found the men’s section was increasingly comparable to TJ Maxx but with some garish items thrown in.

      They used do a weird thing of stapling the shopping bags and putting the receipt on the outside too.

      • Rob says:

        24 Dec24 December 08:34

        It’s weird. They had some really super high end designer stuff but it just gets rammed in with everything else. Unless you knew they had specific brands and were prepared to track them down you would not find it by chance.

  • Andrew McM says:

    24 Dec24 December 06:27

    Was going to say – being next door to a closed shop is hardly relevant!

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