Individual risk and vaccination status are among key factors, Huang says.
Ahead of what health experts are calling an inevitable surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant, many North Texans are wondering whether they should reevaluate their holiday plans.
The new variant is thought to spread more quickly than the highly contagious delta variant of the disease, which was responsible for the nation’s last major surge in cases. As of this week, omicron accounts for 73% of cases nationwide.
Current vaccines with boosters are thought to protect against severe COVID-19 illness, but it’s not clear yet whether omicron causes more severe forms of the disease.
Dr. Philip Huang, director of Dallas County’s health department, said there are still ways people can celebrate the holidays safely amid the spread of omicron. Here’s what you need to know.
Should you gather with loved ones?
The decision to gather with family comes down to individual risk, Huang said.
At this point in the pandemic, people have more tools to make gatherings safer, like vaccinations, boosters and wearing masks. People should consider their own health and the health of their family before making a decision.
“If you’re in a high vulnerable demographic group or are not as likely to not have as much protection from the vaccine, then you may want to be more cautious,” Huang said. “If you’re fully vaccinated and fully boostered and young and healthy, you can do more.”
Huang said the county isn’t discouraging gatherings, but is instead encouraging people to do everything they can to make their celebrations safe. The same guidelines that have been stated throughout the pandemic apply — outdoor gatherings are safer than ones indoors, and face masks and social distancing are recommended for activities that include people outside your immediate household.
“Even if you’re vaccinated, we know that you can carry the virus,” Huang said. “Wearing the mask is another protection if you’re in close quarters or things like that, and especially with people outside of your immediate family or people that you don’t know.”
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the mild weather expected this weekend should allow families to celebrate the holidays more safely. With high temperatures forecast in the low 80s later this week, it will be easy to move celebrations outside or open windows and doors to allow for better ventilation, he said.
“If you take it outside, you don’t have to wear the mask,” Jenkins said. “It’s a pain in the behind if you have to wear these masks, right?”
But there’s an exception, Huang said: Face masks should also be worn at outside gatherings when social distancing isn’t possible.
If unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or immunocompromised
Dallas County is still in the orange level of COVID-19 risk — the second highest risk level on the county’s color-coded chart. Under that level, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people are urged to wear a mask at all indoor settings and avoid large or medium gatherings entirely.
“If there were a bubble [of] your immediate household where everyone else was fully vaccinated, boostered, healthy — then you can do things with them,” he said. “There’s different levels of risk.”
With the spread of the omicron variant, it might be best for immunocompromised people, or people who can’t get vaccinated, to skip large gatherings this year.
“Given the situation now, it’s pretty high-risk,” he said. “With omicron out there you might need to forgo some stuff another year here until things get more stable and controlled.”
Should you get tested before gathering with family?
The spread of the omicron variant has prompted an increase in demand for COVID-19 tests ahead of the holidays. In Dallas County, Huang said, tests are available, although some pharmacies may run out of tests at certain times.
While testing is an important tool in fighting the pandemic, Huang said a person’s decision to get tested ahead of a family gathering depends on a variety of factors.
“If everyone were fully vaccinated, fully boostered, healthy and not at higher risk and things like that … where you’re meeting outdoors, masking and doing all those things, then the test may not be as useful,” he said. “But if any of the persons were not vaccinated or not boostered for some reason, then certainly getting a test before encountering any persons would be helpful, and provide additional information.”
Other factors that people should weigh before deciding to get a test ahead of the holidays include whether the person has any symptoms of COVID-19 or a recent exposure to the virus, and whether the person had been in high-risk settings ahead of the gathering, like bars or restaurants.
“If someone has been in a big crowded area with a bunch of people they didn’t know and they might have gotten an infection, getting that test could be helpful before they go,” Huang said.
Get vaccinated if you haven’t
The most important thing people can do to be protected against COVID-19 this holiday is to get vaccinated.
It’s too late to be fully vaccinated by Christmas; Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna require two shots several weeks apart, and a person isn’t considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second dose. But getting vaccinated now can protect people against the likely oncoming COVID-19 surge.
Fully vaccinated people should also get a booster shot if they’re eligible. Early data from Pfizer and Moderna show three of their shots offer good protection against omicron, while two doses appear less effective.
“It is the unvaccinated that are the most at risk,” Huang said. “Vaccination is the first major thing that everyone should have to try to protect themselves and to protect others.”
Staff writer Charles Scudder contributed to this report.
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