Cruises: travel vaccinated or with travel insurance 0:57
(CNN) -
Disney Cruise Line announced that all passengers 5 years and older on its cruise ships must be vaccinated against covid-19 as of January.
This broadens its requirement to cover children who are now eligible for vaccination in the US.
"As we set sail again, the health and safety of our guests, cast members and crew members is a top priority. Our focus continues to be to operate our ships in a responsible manner that continues to create magic for everyone on board," he said. Disney Cruise Line in a statement.
Aerial view of the Disney Wonder cruise ship docked on March 20, 2020 in San Diego, California.
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
The requirement will begin to apply on January 13, 2022, the company said.
Children under the age of 5 must show a negative test between 3 days and 24 hours before departure.
Children ages 5 to 11 can complete the test requirements for boarding trips by January 13.
The announcement is in line with the company's policy that all clients eligible for the vaccine, as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, must be vaccinated against covid- 19 before boarding.
The US Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, authorized in late October that doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine could be distributed to children ages 5 to 11.
This later received endorsement from the CDC.
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Vaccines accepted on Disney cruises
The vaccination tests accepted by the cruise line for passengers are those of Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Covishield, Novavax, Sinopharm and Sinovac, according to the statement.
The cruise industry has been working to recover from the covid-19 pandemic and has made leaps and bounds to provide safe passenger travel through additional vaccine mandates and safety protocols.
However, some cases have been reported.
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"We are resuming navigation in a gradual and phased approach that emphasizes multiple levels of health and safety measures," Disney Cruise Line said, citing guidance from the CDC and medical experts in its decisions.
About 1.9 million children under the age of 12 have received their first dose of the vaccine, according to CDC data.
The 5- to 11-year-old age group comprises about a third of all new vaccines in the past two weeks.
CNN's Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.
Disney Cruises
