Health Experts Expect That Families Will Come Together For Holidays

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : October 6, 2021

According to the former FDA Commissioner, nothing is going to prevent families from gathering together for the holiday season.

There are sure to be large gatherings, both for Thanksgiving and for Christmas.

Health Experts Expect That Families Will Come Together For Holidays

America, however, should be mindful of each family’s health condition, the official warned. They should use the tools available to minimize the risks of outbreaks.

Health Experts Expect That Families Will Come Together For Holidays

Health officials across the country believe that the holiday season of 2021 will be different from that of 2020. Families will gather together for the holiday season this time. Fortunately, there are numerous tools to mitigate the risk of infection.

Nothing will stop the country from gathering together. We will gather together for Christmas and thanksgiving, said the former FDA commissioner.

His comments come in the wake of the White House Chief Medical Officer’s reminder in this regard. According to him, the time has not yet come to decide on the safety of large gatherings this holiday season. He warned everyone that time to relax has not yet come. The country should continue to focus on reducing the number of infections. The officer also added that vaccination will help the US to eliminate the pandemic. It is effective against all the current variants of the virus.

Last year, CDC had advised the country against traveling for the holiday season; both for Thanksgiving and for Christmas.

Gottlieb, the former FDA Commissioner said that his family could not come together last year for Thanksgiving. But this year’s fall is different, he feels. Vaccination for adults is now easy, convenient, and is completely free of cost. He also believes that the Pfizer vaccine for children in the age range of 5-11 will become available by Halloween.

At present, the Pfizer vaccine is fully authorized for those above 16 years of age. It has emergency use authorization for the age group of 12-15.

In September, CDC had authorized the use of Pfizer vaccine booster shots for the elderly, those prone to serious infections, and healthcare professionals. Furthermore, the two-dose Moderna vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine too are available under emergency use authorization. The agency will consider the possibility of booster shots for those who had received Moderna and J&J shots. This, however, goes against the UN’s request to declare a moratorium for booster shots.

The organization wants wealthier nations to redirect the flow of supply to low-income countries. There are numerous nations, especially in Africa, that are unable to fully vaccinate even 10% of their population. It had called upon nations to halt their campaign for booster doses last month. Since it does not see any change, the organization now wants the moratorium to till the end of the year. WHO is sad that despite its request, calls for booster shots are increasing. Certain nations even plan to administer third doses to relatively healthier persons.

WHO can understand that booster doses may help immuno-compromised individuals but administering them to healthy persons is a short-sighted approach. The US appears to follow the footsteps of Israel and the UK who recommend booster shots in phases for all their citizens. The US appears to follow the footsteps of Israel and the UK who recommend booster shots in phases for all their citizens

Studies there show that vaccine-induced immunity wanes with time. This, they plan, because of the Delta virus in circulation at present. The country wants to gather together for the holiday season. 

According to the former FDA Commissioner, people only have to evaluate the situation in their preferred destination when planning a gathering. They should also evaluate the risk within their own families.

If you have elderly parents and unvaccinated children, you should practice utmost caution. Testing is the best tool to determine your risk in such instances.

Even in this tough time, the officer is fully confident; nothing will prevent Americans from gathering together this holiday season.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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