COVID-19 and the holiday season: how to best protect yourself

The top doctor for the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention sat down for a one-on-one interview with Channel 11′s Washington D.C. bureau ahead of Christmas, urging people to take precautions and to get vaccinated if planning to gather with loved ones.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that behaviors leading up to holiday gatherings will have a big impact on whether we see huge COVID-19 case counts.

“It’s not about the train or the plane ride,” Walensky said. “It’s about whether you’ve been taking the proper prevention interventions for the week before everybody comes together.”

Walensky acknowledged that early research indicates the omicron variant may “have less severe disease than prior variants,” yet still urged people to get vaccinated and boosted if possible. While breakthrough cases are being reported, those who are vaccinated are less likely to have severe outcomes if infected, she said.

Testing will help to track the spread of COVID-19 in the new year, and Walensky was asked about the need for more readily available tests.

“The administration is working hard on testing and we recognize we have more work to do,” she said, claiming that 500 million rapid tests will be available as early as January.

Omicron variant impacting Christmas Eve travel in Pittsburgh