Listen to this articleThe CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) issued new holiday COVID-19 guidance and urged eligible people to get vaccinated against the virus and wear masks, in some cases when gathering. The CDC said, “The best way to minimize COVID-19 risk and keep your family and friends safer is to get vaccinated if you’re eligible because many generations tend to gather to celebrate holidays. Protect those not yet eligible for vaccination such as young children by getting yourself and other eligible people around them vaccinated”. Point to be noted that 11-years old and younger children in the United States aren’t yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Unvaccinated adults are over 6 times more likely to test positive for the virus and more than 11 times more likely to die from it compared to those who are fully vaccinated. Getting vaccinated helps protect those who have the vaccine against severe illness and death from COVID-19.
The agency said it is generally safer to gather outdoors than indoors when it comes to gathering this holiday season. Unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated people should wear well-fitting masks over their noses and mouth during gatherings at indoor public spaces. Fully vaccinated individuals in areas with substantial to high transmission rates should also wear masks in public indoor settings. People who have a weakened immune system should also wear a mask when gathering. The CDC also said, “You might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission if a member of your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is unvaccinated. If you are not fully vaccinated and must travel, follow CDC’s domestic travel or international travel recommendations for unvaccinated people”.
The CDC recommends for those who intend to travel for the holidays avoid doing so if they aren’t fully vaccinated. Dr. Anthony Fauci warned in September that the US could be facing another dark winter, although that can be avoided. He said, “If we don’t get people vaccinated who need to be vaccinated, and we get that conflating with an influenza season, we could have a dark, bad winter. We could also avoid a dark, bad winter if we get people vaccinated to a very high degree over the next several weeks to a month or two”. Fauci’s fear has also been expressed by other health experts. Research presented at an American Academy of Pediatrics conference showed that last year’s decline in flu and common respiratory viruses last winter was due to people wearing masks and social distancing. Although each of these things is not perfect, taken together, they really are effective in preventing illness.
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