how to stay safe this thanksgiving

“one of the theories is that at the same time the lockdown measures should have been bringing things down, it was actually thanksgiving pushing those numbers back up,” dr. matthew oughton, assistant professor of medicine at mcgill university, told time in november.

and while it may feel like we are not much more ahead than we were last year, there’s one important difference: vaccines. and while vaccines do provide a level of protection from the virus, there continues to be the possibility of breakthrough infection — although it’s rare and cases tend to be less severe. still, we aren’t out of the woods yet.

“i would say we’re at a really different juncture now than we were a year ago,” dr. pia macdonald, senior director of applied public health research at the research triangle institute, told delish . “but we’re at a pretty complicated juncture, so it’s well worth families and groups thinking very carefully through [how to handle thanksgiving].”

outdoors better than indoors
health canada says the lowest-risk celebrations are the ones that involve only your immediate household. but what if you are like many people, for whom the holidays mean spending time with family and friends who they don’t live with?

“outdoors always trumps indoors” when it comes to preventing virus transmission, dr. kieran moore, ontario’s chief medical officer of health, told cbc news . if that’s not an option, making sure your guests are fully vaccinated is the another way to ensure safety.

“the vaccines are really effective, but they’re most effective when you’re surrounded by vaccinated people,” dr. matthew miller, assistant dean at mcmaster university’s department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences, told global news . “if you introduce an unvaccinated person who might be infected into that group, then everyone’s risk of a breakthrough infection increases.”

consider travellers
if people are traveling from regions where case levels are higher, the risk goes up. alberta, saskatchewan, and parts of manitoba, for example, are hotspots for the delta variant, which is not only more contagious, but also more likely to cause severe disease . experts are cautioning people within those regions to take extra caution when hosting gatherings, keep groups small and consider asking for proof of negative tests.

ask about status
although it may be a bit awkward, asking whether or not someone has been vaccinated is a valid question — and although it’s been politicized, it’s about health — and life — not politics.

take extra care with kids, seniors 
since kids under 12 aren’t yet eligible to get the vaccine, they bring with them risk — they are also vulnerable. as are seniors, and people with conditions that compromise their immune responses, even if they have been vaccinated. if those groups make up a lot of the people on your list, aim for a small and short gathering — the fewer the people, and the shorter the amount of time they spend indoors together without masks, the lower the risk of transmission.

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