To Avoid Covid, Here Are Four Questions To Ask Family And Friends Ahead Of Thanksgiving Gatherings

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(CNN) — Thursday marks the 2nd Thanksgiving during the coronavirus pandemic. Many grandparents are excitedly readying to spot their grandchildren. Friends are dressing their eating tables for turkey and loved ones. Some radical person flights booked oregon roadworthy trips scheduled.

But successful the background, Covid-19 lawsuit numbers are inching upward crossed the United States and millions of Americans stay unvaccinated — leaving immoderate radical disquieted astir the imaginable Covid-19 risks that could travel with their Thanksgiving plans.

If you person concerns, experts accidental determination are immoderate important questions to inquire to assistance measurement your risk: Will those astir you beryllium vaccinated? Have they been tested? Should you unfastened windows erstwhile indoors?

Results from a new Axios/Ipsos survey, released Tuesday, recovered that among 682 US adults who are readying to spot radical for Thanksgiving this year, 31% said that they presumption determination to beryllium a “large oregon mean risk” successful seeing friends oregon household for the vacation — down from 64% a twelvemonth ago.

Among those readying to stitchery this Thanksgiving, 30% said the guests volition see unvaccinated radical and different 17% said they don’t cognize whether guests volition beryllium vaccinated oregon not — which means that astir fractional of the survey respondents, 47%, could beryllium astir unvaccinated radical for the holiday.

Unvaccinated radical are six times much apt to trial affirmative for Covid-19 than those who are vaccinated, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, manager of the US Centers for Disease Control and Preventon, said during a White House briefing Monday.

“Infections among the unvaccinated proceed to thrust this pandemic, hospitalizations, and deaths — tragically, astatine a clip erstwhile we person vaccines that tin supply unthinkable protection,” Walensky said. “As we attack the Thanksgiving holiday, I privation to instrumentality a infinitesimal to bespeak connected wherever we were a twelvemonth ago. I tin retrieve waiting successful large anticipation for the lifesaving vaccines we presently person astatine our fingertips.”

She added, “We would promote radical who stitchery to bash truthful safely aft they’ve been afloat vaccinated, arsenic we’ve been saying for months now.”

To observe safely, present are 4 questions to inquire friends and household up of gatherings.

Question 1: Have you been vaccinated?

Knowing the vaccination presumption of the radical astir you tin assistance find whether you should instrumentality definite precautions during vacation gatherings, specified arsenic wearing a disguise oregon keeping your distance.

Since his household members are afloat vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci, manager of the National Institutes of Health, said that helium volition beryllium spending the holidays with his household — and it’s OK to ditch the masks erstwhile everyone is vaccinated.

“That’s what I’m going to bash with my family,” Fauci told CNN’s Dana Bash connected State of the Union connected Sunday. But helium added that erstwhile you are traveling oregon unaware of the vaccination presumption of radical astir you, past deterioration a mask.

“That is the information nett — is vaccination,” Fauci said.

“Get vaccinated and you tin bask the holidays precise easily, and if you’re not, delight beryllium careful,” Fauci added. “Get tested if you request to get tested erstwhile you’re getting together, but that’s not a substitute for getting vaccinated. Get yourself vaccinated and you tin proceed to bask interactions with your household and others.”

Someone is considered afloat vaccinated 2 weeks aft they person a 2nd dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech oregon Moderna coronavirus vaccines oregon a azygous dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Nearly 60% of the US colonisation is afloat vaccinated, but astir 82 cardinal radical — much than a 3rd of those eligible — person not yet received their archetypal dose, a CNN investigation of CDC information shows.

Question 2: Have you been tested?

Some families mightiness beryllium trying to find whether they should inquire guests arriving for Thanksgiving to get tested, particularly if the impermanent has not been vaccinated.

“I deliberation that’s a tenable thought for that other level of protection. It isn’t a steadfast requirement, but I deliberation if you privation to spell that other step, peculiarly erstwhile you’re successful a portion wherever there’s a batch of corruption and radical are traveling, it is not astatine each unreasonable to archer radical to get a trial — 1 of those accelerated tests — 24 hours oregon truthful earlier you spell successful an indoor mounting with people,” Fauci said Monday during an quality connected CBS This Morning.

“You tin bash an antigen test,” helium added. “It isn’t the astir delicate of the tests, but it tin archer you erstwhile you person capable microorganism successful your nasopharynx to transmit.”

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta calls at-home Covid-19 tests “one of the champion tools that we have” close present to enactment harmless during the pandemic.

“I don’t deliberation that we speech astir them enough. I don’t deliberation we deliberation astir them enough,” Gupta said successful the latest occurrence of his podcast Chasing Life.

“Keep successful mind, let’s accidental you’re vaccinated, but inactive privation to marque definite you’re not perchance carrying the virus, which tin happen. What you tin bash is you tin instrumentality a accelerated antigen trial that tin archer you reasonably accurately the reply to the question you’re truly asking: Are you contagious? That’s what you truly privation to know,” Gupta said, adding that specified a trial tin beryllium bought over-the-counter for astir $20.

Question 3: Should we ace unfastened a window?

Air ventilation is important to deliberation astir during ample gatherings, Gupta said connected his podcast.

“We cognize that this microorganism spreads done the air. It’s airborne. So, the much that you tin get the aerial moving, the better,” Gupta said.

“In fact, the mode to deliberation astir it is deliberation of the microorganism benignant of similar smoke. If determination is fume outdoors, you’re going to beryllium little apt to respire it in, right? But indoors, if you person that aforesaid smoke, it’s going to summation the chances of those particles getting breathed in,” helium added. “Even cracking a model a small spot tin help.”

Question 4: Is determination anyone astatine terrible hazard who needs maine to disguise up?

Even erstwhile definite mitigation measures are successful spot — knowing who’s vaccinated and who’s not, investigating guests and improving aerial ventilation — it whitethorn besides beryllium adjuvant to cognize who astatine the Thanksgiving array is astatine precocious hazard for terrible Covid-19 successful bid to assistance support them.

Some guests who are astatine accrued hazard for terrible Covid-19, owed to their property oregon an underlying wellness condition, whitethorn similar to support their masks connected and for others to deterioration masks.

“If everybody is mostly steadfast and they’re vaccinated and boosted, astir apt it’s good for everyone to region their masks and person a precise mean Thanksgiving meal,” CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, told CNN’s John King connected Tuesday.

“On the different hand, if determination are unvaccinated young children oregon severely immunocompromised people, you mightiness privation to person an further level of extortion — beryllium outdoors, unfastened each the windows indoors oregon get a accelerated trial the time of for everyone,” said Wen, who is an exigency doc and prof of wellness argumentation and absorption astatine the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. “That helps to guarantee that everyone stays steadfast from Covid and harmless from Covid this Thanksgiving.”

Overall, “no 1 wants to dispersed Covid to their loved ones,” Dr. Tom Frieden, a erstwhile manager of the CDC and existent president and CEO of the planetary nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives, wrote successful a Twitter post Monday.

“It’s important we marque definite everyone astatine the Thanksgiving array is vaccinated and see different layers of protection, including masking erstwhile not eating, opening the windows, and investigating for those who mightiness person been exposed,” Frieden tweeted.

These types of conversations tin beryllium hard for immoderate — but being unfastened with loved ones astir your concerns is the key, Gupta said connected his podcast.

“I deliberation the cardinal is to retrieve to person an unfastened speech with those who privation to walk clip with implicit the holidays. Have that speech now,” Gupta said. “Let them cognize your concerns, what it mightiness instrumentality to marque you and your household consciousness safer and fundamentally spell from there.”

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