Doctors share tips on celebrating Thanksgiving safely
Will kids be fully immune by Thanksgiving
Health experts are reminding parents and guardians that full immunity given by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for children 5 through 11 years of age won't take effect until two weeks after the second shot. That means families may want to take extra protective measures during the Thanksgiving holiday.
ATLANTA - Just over a week into the children's vaccine rollout, nearly a million kids age 5 through 11 are heading into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with one shot down, one to go.
But Dr. Lee Savio Beers, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, cautions kids will not be fully protected until they are at least two weeks out from their second dose of the vaccine.
"It's important to know that, even with one shot, you're partway there, but you're not all the way there," Beers says. "I would tell parents that, until your children are fully vaccinated, continue to use those same precautions, of not being in large groups, particularly with unvaccinated folks, wearing masks indoors, if you're with big mixed groups of people who aren't vaccinated. And, just having that little bit extra precaution. You're almost there. Hang in there until the winter, until the December holidays; you're almost there!"
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Georgia and across the South have been steadily dropping.
With just half of eligible Georgians now fully vaccinated, Kaiser Permanente Georgia physician and epidemiologist Dr. Felipe Lobelo says there are still high enough levels of the virus circulating to leave the door open for a fifth surge this winter.
"I think we're going to see a potential resurgence in cases, perhaps not a full wave of cases, but something that is going to keep us in a heavy state of hospitalizations and cases," Lobelo says,
If he were hosting a Thanksgiving gathering, Lobelo says, he would ask guests to take an at-home rapid antigen test, that can detect a contagious infection in about 15 minutes.
"The accuracy of these tests is much better now," Dr. Lobelo says. "There is no test that is perfect. If you have symptoms and test positive, it is important the seek medical attention, to get a PCR-confirmatory test. But, as a screening, as a public health tool, these rapid tests are going to be very important moving forward."
Booster shots, for those who are eligible, he says, are also important going into the winter holidays.
"If there are vulnerable individuals, people over 60, it's a great time for them to start getting their boosters so that they're protected over the holiday period," Lobelo says.
Finally, if you are going to be around other people, especially those who are more vulnerable to infection,
stay out of crowded indoor settings like bars, so you don't bring the virus with you to Thanksgiving.
"We know, on average, 70% of household members that are not vaccinated are going to catch the virus, if someone brings it home," Dr. Lobelo says. "It doesn't matter if it's a kid or if it's an adult. So, we really need to stop those chains of transmission, if we're going to prevent another surge over the winter."
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