If you assume that his only exposure is when aboard Civil Turbojet aircraft, I politely and strongly disagree with that assumption. My DD had a PCR exam here in Colombia, in mid-August, in a very large private hospital, before she went to Germany. At that time she was not vaccinated, because she was too young to be vaccinated in Colombia. After 5 days of a 10 day quarantine, she went for a PCR exam, which was Negative and that ended her quarantine and that day she got her first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination. Free. Before she came home 9 days ago (via the UK and the USA) she had a Rapid Antigen test. Free. I think she had the results in about 20 minutes. Had she wanted or needed a PCR the cost would have been directly related to how quickly they gave her the results.

OP a possible "word to the wise". I have read, in a travel forum that I occasionally participate in, about some of the Test at Home tests for COVID. It can be almost impossible to get in contact with the ones that have monitoring for the COVID test. Also, I suspect their accuracy is questionable. IMO your DS has a higher possibility of getting COVID in an airport or grocery store or drug store than he does in a Civil Turbojet aircraft.

OP some questions: (a) Are they in the USA now? (b) If so, are they where you live? (c) Do they have any type of Visa or other papers allowing them to enter the USA legally? I suggest that you contact the Caseworker of your U.S. Congresswoman or Congressman and give them, briefly, all of the background information you can. Possibly they can help you. If they have some kind of status, it may be possible to get that status changed to another status. I have a tiny bit of knowledge about this, but I know that many people who are in the USA legally now got their status changed and became legal. I believe that a Medical Visa is for someone who is not in the USA and wants to travel there for Medical treatment. It sounds like the father and baby need some kind of status that will permit them to stay in the USA legally. Good luck to them. I hope that she does not suffer.

Because this involves Pfizer/BioNTech I suggest that they get their boosters now. Here in Colombia the government purchased five (5) different COVID vaccines. They've received about 19 million of the Pfizer/BioNTech so far. At this time, the only vaccine that is administered to pregnant women is the Pfizer/BioNetch and only pregnant women are getting Pfizer/BioNTech now. That suggests to me that it is milder and safer than the other 4 vaccines.

Despite all the COVID restrictions, my DD had a wonderful experience on her Semester Abroad program. When I asked her yesterday, how she would rate the program and she responded, I was thrilled, that she thought the program was so good. And to be in Berlin is very special, for many reasons.

I believe that after my DD graduates from UNC that she will be extremely interested in the possibility of working and living in Germany. Especially in Berlin. As her father I worry about her safety and it seems that she is much safer in Berlin than she would be in a large city in the USA.

What a sad experience for your oldest. I remember looking on the UNC Semester Abroad web pages, months ago, after DD was signed up for Berlin. I didn't locate her program, but I would have found it very bewildering, to have so many programs to choose from. There are lots of places in/near Berlin and they did go sightseeing there and in October her cohort went to Hamburg for about 8 days and did a lot of sightseeing there. DD received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Germany. I will ask her if her vaccination certificate is in German...

DD unexpectedly arrived home from Berlin, Germany today at 2 A.M. She did a “Semester Abroad” program there, which was actually less $ than her being in her school. The COVID restrictions are so tough in the EU now that she might as well enjoy the warm weather and long hours of daylight here. She was able to travel for about 9 days in October, when they had a Break in the program, to 2 other countries, but then in November it became extremely difficult to travel to other EU countries and possibly risk getting stuck, because of the COVID regulations. The original plan was for her to have another 3.5 weeks to explore more of the EU, and then for her to return to NC early in January for the Spring 2022 semester. In October, she visited Bruges, Belgium and Innsbruck, Austria, each for several nights during the one week break from the "Semester Abroad" program. She would like to return to Innsbruck. At Breakfast, I asked DD how she would rate the "Semester Abroad" program, on a scale of 1 to 10, considering that I don't rate anything as a 10, which would be perfect. She said it would be a "9" so I want to include the name of the school in Berlin, Germany, which is Freie Univeristat Berlin. The URL is https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/index.html That program was suggested to her by the "Semester Abroad" office at UNC. They have hundreds or thousands of programs one can choose from. The flight reservation was made on 03 December for the 3 flights on 10 December. Normally we make reservations 1 to 3 months in advance when possible. Prior to that, she was holding a reservation to go from Berlin to NC, early in January and she would have had 3.5 weeks more to explore some of the EU. The best bang for the buck that I found on Google Flights on 03 December was on American Airlines, which isn't normally on the list of airlines I have in my head, but she said the flight from London to New York had very good food and she had 3 seats to herself, because other passengers moved. That flight was of course slow, because Westbound flights have strong Headwinds slowing them down. The flight from New York to Cali was in one of those 737 MAX aircraft and had NO entertainment and she won't be going in an AA Nonstop from New York to Cali or Cali to New York in one of those again. Her 3 flights yesterday were all delayed leaving, but for a strange combination of reasons, she arrived in Cali on schedule, just before Midnight last night, on the 3 flights she had Boarding Passes for. I thank God for watching over her and for the help she received from a British Airways Ticket Agent yesterday. S/he helped DD finish the Online check in and get fully checked in yesterday in the Berlin airport. The 2 long flights were on American Airlines and the first flight, from Berlin to London was a "Code Share" with American Airlines operated by British Airways. And most importantly, obviously, I thank God that her flights were safe.

Suggestion: Before your kid goes, spend a little time. Research the phone. The model and the sub-model on the FrequencyCheck.com web site. I think that's the one I used for Germany. DD has an old (I think purchased in February 2017) Moto G4 and the sub-model is for Latin America. I checked out the Data bands that it has. Then, I checked the major cell providers in Germany. I think there are 4? The biggest one, T-Mobile (Telekom) had 3 Data bands. Her old phone has 2 of them. One or 2 had one Data band and one of them used a band that her phone doesn't have. I hoped that she would have good service with T-Mobile (Telekom) and she bought a Prepaid SIM card from them. I'm not sure how many GB she buys in a month, but it was only for 4 or 5 months. She has used Data from many strange places, including showing DW things she was looking at in a Souvenir store. Seems so strange to be doing that... IMO, Data is THE most critical thing. She has used her phone with the German SIM card in other EU countries and it works fine. It also has Voice and SMS services but the Data is what you need to get and it could save someones life. You will need to do some research before buying the SIM card. Suggestion: Have the person who sells the SIM card install it and configure it! Especially hard in German and possibly in other languages too...

From Reviews I read in a travel forum, a 14 euro fare on RyanAir or the other one (Easy Jet?) could easily end up costing 100 Euros and good luck getting Customer Service from them, or many airlines, a very long list of airlines, if needed. But, for a weekend, he might have been very lucky and done it for 14 Euros! For a few months, I was looking at DD going from the EU back to NC, from different cities, and every time I checked, TAP Air Portugal was by far the least expensive, with the exception of one day on one route. But their Reviews were mostly horrible, or worse, and I didn't want DD to fly with them. If all had gone well it would have been fine, but if not she would have had to buy another ticket on another airline to get to her destination and buying at the last minute is expensive. One Saturday, in Google Flights, I saw a flight on Delta, for about 200 or 300 USD more than TAP Air Portugal and she booked that Delta flight, which was a "Code Share" on KLM. but $214 USD less for the one way ticket, if one bought the ticket from Delta. But then recently the COVID situation in the EU has caused things to get closed down as your DS experienced. DD changed her reservation to go to the USA and instead she will come home (we live in Colombia) for those 3+ weeks and enjoy 12 hours of daylight and warm weather and then she will go to the USA. It looks like she can get an Antigen test, which I don't think is as painful as a PCR, for her transit of the USA, while enroute from the EU to Colombia and meet the new U.S. regulations for arriving International passengers, which began today. Hopefully, your DS and my DD can go back to Europe, when it is easier to move around, without worrying about them suddenly closing a border and getting stuck somewhere and in deep deep trouble.

OP I will not address your question(s) about Travel Insurance. There are companies on the web that are Agents or Brokers of companies that write Travel Insurance of different types. They can help you. Note: If by "over there" you mean Europe, at the moment (06 December 2021) that is very problematic. But, May 2022 is a long time off (5 or 6 months from now) and many things can happen. My DD was going to stay in Europe for another 3+ weeks, but it just became too problematic to travel within the EU and would be very risky, if she got stuck somewhere. She changed her reservation and is going to come home (we live in Colombia) for those 3+ weeks, to see the Sun again and not be so cold and then she will go back to the USA in January.

If she has no teeth then I believe she will need to eat Soft food. I disagree with your vet. I believe that Dry food is better and that it is NOT like junk food. Does s/he sell cans of cat food? As you know, there are special diet foods for Dogs and Cats with Kidney and other issues, so if you feeding those you are doing the best you can.

Wet cat food out of a can is not good for cats. Also, they will lose their teeth earlier, if they eat soft foods. They should eat a good Dry food and have lots of fresh water available to them at all times. Years ago, dear friends in Texas had a very small dog. She fed it a lot of wet food and I believe human food. The dog lost all of her teeth because she wasn't eating dry food.

Condolences for the passing of your Father. I have one suggestion: Try to get her to go out of the house early in the mornings! She should do her shopping, any appointments she has, exercise and if possible visit with friends, early in the day. Sunset there is very early now. My DD is there now and it is depressing for her that it gets dark so early. She's coming home for a few weeks and I believe the fact that we have approximately 12 hours of daylight will help her. Also the warmer temperature here in Colombia.

Packing hint: Before leaving and before returning: He should put everything that needs to be packed on top of his bed. He should not close his bag until there is nothing else on top of the bed. I like the idea of him having $ in case there is an opportunity for him to buy something really special. Possibly more than one thing! And I'm glad he has lots of Data on his phone. For DD, and for us on trips, Data is the most important thing... Another thing: If he will be sitting around a lot at swim meets, buy him at least one and maybe 2 of those little external battery pack things. Approximately 12 USD each. Early last year (during Spring Break) before DD went to a Leadershape Seminar, they suggested not bringing a laptop but buying those battery things. DD bought 2 of them and she managed for the six (?) days of the Seminar. She has them in Europe now and she was away from her Laptop twice (in October) for about 8 days each time. She can do what she needs, with her Smart phone.

First, he needs ID with a photo on it. More than one ID with a photo would be nice. If he is flying, something acceptable to the airlines and TSA. Second, I would send him with approximately 50 USD in notes of 10 USD each. Third, I would be sure that he has a SMART phone with Data available. IMO, Data is THE most important thing a traveler can have on their cell phone. He will have a good time! He needs to have a number of Surgical Masks to wear in airports, airplanes, restaurants, hotels, etc. Also his information for his Health/Medical coverage.

I will share with you my experiences with the last two (2) Old English Sheepdogs I had. We have dogs now, but they are mixed-breed-mutts. The first one, I flew out of town to a job assignment without her, and I boarded her with my vet. I went back a week or 2 later, to drive her to where I was (in a mid-Atlantic state). She seemed OK, but the night after we arrived at the motel, I woke up about 430 A.M. and found that she was in the bathroom, dead. She was 7 years and 8 months old. Gastric Torsion was the cause of her death. Then, my last OES, I'd moved to a smaller city in Texas and the vet there had given me information on someone near to that city who had a boarding kennel in the country. They had horses and my vet also took care of horses. My dog had been there many times. On at least one occasion, I know the owner of the kennel (who took care of my dog) took her to the vet for me. That's what you need. That OES made the trip from Texas to Colombia at the age of 12 1/2 and passed away (needed to be put to sleep after a Stroke) at 15+ years of age. So, boarding her in a kennel she was accustomed to seemed to be fine for her. In your case, I suggest, if you can find the "right" person, that they come to the house where the dog lives and "pet sit" the dog, 24/7, in that house, so the dog will be as comfortable as is possible. I believe the dog could become agitated if left alone or in a kennel situation and that if possible best to have it in it's own house.

I respectfully disagree with your last sentence. I believe the question has everything to do with Ethnicity and not with Citizenship. I believe the applicant should indicate Hispanic/Latino ethnicity on the university applications and when taking the ACT and SAT exams.

I believe yes, without any problem. If the parents of this applicant were born in Latin America that should be the end of the story. If the applicant has a Passport from a Country in Latin America that may or may not come into play here. I suggest checking the box for "Hispanic" or "Latino/Latina". Note: The dual citizenship can be tricky. Here in Colombia, those with Colombian citizenship MUST enter and leave Colombia with their Colombian passport.

After DD bought that Down Insulated Coat from L.L. Bean, late in 2019. I believe that she only wore it a few times and each time she wore it a short time. From the dorm to a class or a meal hall, etc. And then the issue with Insulation coming out of tiny holes (?) and not because she had done anything wrong. I was sad when I learned that she considers my VERY OLD L.L. Bean Red Parka to be of much better quality than the one she bought late in 2019, which wasn't inexpensive. From what you wrote above, that's common. Sad. Many years ago, I did have an L.L. Bean jacket or parka that needed a zipper replaced, but I think it was old. They offered to send me a new zipper, but I was afraid to have it replaced locally (in Texas) because I was afraid someone might ruin my jacket. I sent it to L.L. Bean for them to replace the Zipper. I don't consider that a Factory Defect because the jacket had been used a lot.

@BakersDozenL.L. Bean was my "Go To" for many years. We live in a Tropical Valley, so my DD had no Winter clothes or boots or knowledge of cold weather, when she went to UNC 2 years ago. I sent her with my old Red L.L. Bean Down Parka, to get her started. That was August 2019. Probably it was purchased in the early 90's. I wore it a lot and then for many years it hung in the closet here. Several months later, she bought a new Woman's Down Jacket from L.L. Bean. I think it was discounted to about $270 USD. She wore it 2 or 3 times and then Insulation started coming out of the Jacket. I suggested she return it for a Refund because it was defective and buy another model, when they had a better selection. She's done with L.L. Bean and my old Red Parka is in Germany at "Semester Abroad" now... I am sad that L.L. Bean did not maintain their Quality Control. Also she didn't like the long Jacket she bought. I think she said it was not comfortable. She also has a Wool Jacket now. I have an Eddie Bauer Down Jacket that I had worn very little (Dark Grey) but when she went to Germany in August 2021 she didn't have room for that one in her suitcase and she only wanted to take one big suitcase. It's in like new condition.

Possibly you should expand the possibilities to include something like a Wacom Bamboo Tablet? My belief is that is something like a precise Mouse. To my surprise, we bought one of those for DD, when she began a Math course in the 6th grade in TTUISD. They specified something that wasn't sold here in Colombia and didn't have a warranty here. I found that the Wacom Bamboo would do the job for her and we bought it from a company in Bogota. Her Wacom Bamboo tablet is 11 years old now and it still works very well! It has had a lot of use... Now, she is looking at buying Wacom Cintiq 16 or a Huion Kamvas 16 (2021). Probably she will buy the Wacom. Today I began to research both of them. Those are "Display Tablets" and very different than something like a Wacom Bamboo. Good luck with what you buy! Investigate what you need to buy to do what you want to do.

IMO Israel has the most expertise about the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the world, and possibly about other vaccines too, but I don't think they would go for what he heard somewhere... They have approximately 5.5 million people in a Database who are closely monitored by their health care providers.

I don't think this is the kind of thing one should buy without trying on and expect them to fit properly. If it does, IMO that is a miracle. I needed Jeans. A few years ago, DW and DSS were in downtown Cali where they supposedly had real Levi jeans (not imitations). She bought me a couple of pairs of Jeans there that I can't wear and it was too far to go back there with her and try on to try to find pairs that fit like I want them to fit. In that same store, the same day, she bought several shirts for me that are fine. I wear them. After the experience of her being in the store downtown, without me, one day we were in the superstore in the nearest mall. I still needed Jeans. Tiring to try them on, but necessary. After trying on some much more expensive Jeans that didn't fit me properly, I walked around and I looked at all of the mens Jeans they had on the racks. I decided that I would begin with the least expensive ones and then go up to more expensive ones. Well, the least expensive ones, a brand I had never heard of, were the most comfortable and I bought 3 pairs of those and I wear them. My DW was with me and possibly my DD too. I would come out of the Dressing Room, so they could see how each pair of Jeans fit me or didn't fit me and look for something that would fit me better. I'm very happy with the Jeans I bought that day. Go with your DH to a store where he can try them on before buying! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on WTM!

OP my first blood donation was when I was at work in Texas. Mobile unit came, but they did it inside the facility. For me it was a bad experience, but nothing like what you described. After that, I gave blood a number of times, in Texas and after I moved to Colombia. I always went to a Blood Bank or a hospital to do that. I never had a problem. When I saw mobile units, I just avoided them. I'm too old to donate blood now. Please try it again, but in a Blood Bank or in the Blood Bank of a hospital. Thank you for giving! Only a tiny percentage of the people who are eligible to donate blood actually donate.