For many of us, the holidays last year were cancelled. People were encouraged to avoid gatherings and travel in 2020 to keep down the spread of COVID. Since travel, gatherings and family togetherness are the point of the holidays, people want to be together this year more than ever. While it is wonderful to be able to plan for this, there are still some measures that will help make the holidays memorable for good reasons, not bad.
Welcome to the 2021 holiday season! Unfortunately, COVID-19 is still here, but fortunately the restrictions on travel and gatherings are much more relaxed than last year. More people will be traveling and gathering for celebrations so when you make your plans, include measures to keep yourself and your family safe this season.
· Vaccinations are in the news every day for a reason. There are 3 vaccination options available to adults today for COVID-19, and Pfizer is getting approval for younger children every day. The effectiveness calendar for Thanksgiving is 10/14 for the first dose and 11/11 for the second dose to reach full protection by Thanksgiving Day. Of course, the J&J is a one dose option, and even if you have not gotten vaccinated yet, starting now will help provide some protection, which is better than none. Being vaccinated yourself does help protect people you encounter who for various reasons are ineligible for the vaccine (age, health conditions, etc.). As far as booster shots currently, consult with your healthcare provider because the recommendations for this are changing frequently.
· Testing is important. The key symptoms are changing as the variants are gaining strength. In the beginning, it was coughing and fever which could also be mistaken for flu. Then the loss of smell and taste was a very common symptom. Then there was an overwhelming sense of exhaustion and difficulty breathing. Now we are circling back to cough and fever as we go back into flu season. Many people with COVID are testing positive when they thought they were not sick. The bottom line is this: you must use common sense to protect yourself and your loved ones. Even the “experts” don’t have all the answers.
· Speaking of vaccinations, as we come back to flu season, the flu vaccine is also very highly recommended to help avoid complications from being sick with both covid and flu at the same time.
· Where possible, celebrate outdoors. You will find the fresh air and open space provides a more natural protection than being more crowded indoors with air that is being recycled throughout the area. If you must be indoors, try to open the windows and doors while putting fans on one side of the area to push air out of the home helping cycle airborne particulates outside.
· Wearing a mask regardless of vaccination status is still recommended for everyone over the age of 2 when at gatherings that require people to be closer than 6 feet apart outdoors or any distance apart indoors. This is especially true if you are gathering with people with whom you do not have regular contact. Masks are not effective unless worn over both the mouth and nose.
· Wash your face, hands and items that are handled regularly. Try to limit sharing items to minimize contact.
· When in crowded areas, try to avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose, and mouth.
· Consider online holiday shopping for gifts this year. While the industry encourages supporting small businesses and “brick and mortar” stores, the truth is that items purchased online have been handled by fewer unknown individuals than items in a store that are picked up by shoppers and then put back on the shelf. Unless you can buy early and quarantine the items before you give them to your friends and family, online shopping will reduce potential exposure.
· Cleaning before and after gatherings helps control the environment as well. Cleaning before an event helps remove dust and other particulates that may become airborne during an event, helping the viruses spread. Cleaning after the event helps remove any dust and dirt brought in by the guests, which helps keep down the risk of it being blown around by the central air system. ServiceMaster of Gwinnett and ServiceMaster 5 Points are ready to help clean your floors, especially rugs and carpets which trap dust and dirt, before your big holiday celebrations begin. Call today to be sure to get your cleaning scheduled when you need it.
