Disney Cruise Line to require passengers sailing to Bahamas get COVID-19 vaccine

Disney Cruise Line will start requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for U.S. passengers boarding ships to the Bahamas next month, the first time the company has issued such a mandate for ships sailing from domestic ports.

The U.S. has seen a flood of new vaccine mandates in recent days following the Food and Drug Administration giving its full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The agency's final clearance came Monday came amid a surge of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant. More than 19,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 over the last month, and nearly 631,000 have died from the virus since the pandemic began.  Starting September 3, 2021, passengers 12 and older must be fully vaccinated at least 14 days before boarding any ship heading to the Bahamas, Disney announced on Tuesday. That includes Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, the company stated. The new rule is in place until November.