A second holiday season with COVID-19 could still deter some celebrations even with vaccines available. A by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that about half of Americans will ask their guests to wear masks.
鈥淚f everyone in attendance is vaccinated and are without major health risks, you can have a safe, small gathering without a lot of additional precautions,鈥� said Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer at OSU Wexner Medical Center, in an emailed press release.
Last year 67% of those surveyed responded they would ask guests to wear masks. In the latest survey, nearly three-fourths of people say they plan to only celebrate with household members.
Vaccination status is also a concern. Half of those surveyed said they will ask their guests if they have been vaccinated. Since last year鈥檚 holiday season, vaccinations have expanded to include children now ages 5 to 11.
鈥淯nvaccinated individuals really pose the greatest threat, and that鈥檚 when it becomes necessary to put some rule and precautions in place, even though those conversations can be a little bit awkward,鈥� said Gonsenhauser.
The survey also shows that 46% will require unvaccinated guests to test negative for COVID-19 before arriving.
鈥淧lain and simple, vaccines work,鈥� said Gonsenhauser. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e highly effective. The vaccines that we鈥檝e seen developed for COVID are some of the most effective vaccines that we鈥檝e ever seen in the history of medicine, there鈥檚 no debate about that.鈥�
