Here’s how Charlotte doctors advise you to stay safe over Thanksgiving during COVID
Though coronavirus levels are now far lower in Mecklenburg County than levels last year at this time, local doctors warn families to use caution when sitting down for Thanksgiving dinners.
As of Friday, Mecklenburg is averaging fewer than 180 new daily cases of COVID-19 on average. That’s less than half the average for last year at this time.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday last year, Mecklenburg County was reporting roughly 370 new daily cases of COVID-19 on average.
And unlike last year, COVID-19 vaccines are now widely available, Atrium Health infectious disease expert Dr. Lewis McCurdy told reporters recently. That makes a big difference, he said, and makes it much easier for families to gather.
But McCurdy added: “I think the opportunities are still the same for us to try to be very vigilant about safe travel.”
And safety guidelines haven’t changed much in the nearly 21 months since COVID-19 hit North Carolina, he said.
Here’s what McCurdy and other local doctors say you should keep in mind while gathering with family and friends over the holiday:
Still wear masks
Even with vaccines widely available, wearing a mask is important — especially while traveling, McCurdy said.
Wearing a mask is federally mandated in airports, But travelers should also wear masks anywhere indoors, like in hotels, he said.
In Mecklenburg, mask-wearing is still mandated countywide. County commissioners voted to lower the threshold to drop the mask requirement this month.
Mecklenburg will now remove the mask mandate once the county holds a positivity rate below 5% for seven consecutive days.
For now, the mask mandate holds. The county’s positivity rate jumped to 6.4% as of Nov. 17, the most recent day available. The positivity rate has steadily increased for six of the past seven days reported online.
Get vaccinated
COVID-19 vaccines have been available in the U.S. for nearly a year. Still, just 58% of Mecklenburg County residents are fully vaccinated, as of Nov. 19.
The U.S. has broadly expanded access to COVID-19 vaccines in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized use of the pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 for the first time.
And just last week, the FDA and the CDC authorized Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster doses for all adults.
The adult booster doses are recommended six months after completing the two-dose vaccination series of either Moderna or Pfizer, or two months after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Atrium doctors McCurdy and pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Amina Ahmed encouraged vaccines for all eligible Charlotteans in a news conference last week.
And anyone attending Thanksgiving gatherings should ask family and friends if they’ve gotten vaccinated, McCurdy said.
If you know someone is coming who is unvaccinated, have that interaction outdoors, he said. If everyone is vaccinated, gatherings can be more relaxed.
“While it’s a hard conversation I think it’s obviously important so that we don’t have spread within families,” he said.
It’s important to get young kids vaccinated too, Ahmed said. While many children with COVID-19 show no symptoms, they can still spread the virus to friends and family.
And even though COVID-19 is generally more mild in children, one-third of children hospitalized with COVID-19 go to the intensive care unit, Ahmed said.
There’s still time to get a vaccine before the December holiday season, McCurdy said.
“People may have plans because they’ve taken a year off and now they want to go gather with folks that they may have missed for the year,” McCurdy said. “For those who are unvaccinated, it’s an opportunity to really go ahead and step up and get that vaccine.”
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