As Thanksgiving approaches, so does the time for family gatherings and travel for the holidays. The Sonoma County Public Health officer, Dr. Sundari Mase, released a press release on Nov. 8 with guidelines for those gathering together for upcoming holiday festivities. 

Unvaccinated people should avoid gatherings or traveling, especially if they are sick or showing symptoms of COVID-19. They should also receive a dose of the vaccine in time for the holidays if possible. According to Mase, “We do not want to see another surge in cases like we witnessed last year over the holidays. Now that safe and effective vaccines are widely available, we can prevent the heartbreaking suffering and death that so many endured last year.”

With travel, there’s the risk of the spread of COVID-19. If people are traveling out of town to be with family, then people should if their destination requires proof of vaccination. It’s even recommended that copies of the vaccination card are made or keep a picture on their phones.

The U.S. Drug and Food Administration also approved the use of a pediatric Pfizer vaccine. Therefore, it’s recommended that children over the age of 5 be vaccinated. 

In order to be fully vaccinated for the upcoming holidays, “It takes two weeks to become fully protected against COVID-19 after receiving the single-dose J&J/Janssen vaccine or your second dose of the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.” However, the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are administered 21 days apart while Moderna is 28 days apart.

Wearing a mask is also recommended. “At all times, unvaccinated people should wear a mask indoors and maintain a social distance of 6 feet when meeting with people outside their immediate family. The mask, which should be at least two-ply and preferably three-ply, should cover your nose and mouth.”

In an Instagram poll 24 of 44 responded that they would not be traveling for Thanksgiving. 43 of 50 respondents in another responded that they would be attending a gathering of 3 or more people for Thanksgiving

It’s important to be vaccinated for the holiday season because there are concerns of a spike in COVID-19 cases occurring especially as the temperatures drop and people gather indoors. In an article for the Press Democrat, “Of California’s five regions as defined by the state Department of Public Health, the San Joaquin Valley has the worst COVID-19 hospitalization rate, with 25 COVID-19 hospitalizations for every 100,000 residents; followed by rural Northern California, which has a rate of 16 and the Greater Sacramento area, with a rate of 14.”

This further emphasizes that we’re still going through a pandemic and that people should still be taking precautions when getting together with friends and family. 

In that same article UC San Francisco epidemiologist and infectious diseases expert Dr. George Rutherford said, “He expected that California “should be out of this by spring,” November will probably be decisive in giving us a clue in how the rest of the fall and winter will unfold.”

This year’s Thanksgiving is different from last year because now we can gather together for the holiday season but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still be taking precautions when getting together in order to stay safe and to keep those around us safe.