Protect Yourself From COVID-19 at Thanksgiving By Making This One Easy Change

With COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots readily available nationwide, it’s going to be a much more upbeat Thanksgiving compared to last year. However, even if you’ve gotten your vaccine doses, there’s still a small chance you could end up with a breakthrough case of the coronavirus. That’s particularly true if you’re attending a larger holiday gathering than last year. Luckily, there’s one simple way to mitigate some of those risks this Thanksgiving, and it doesn’t require any extra effort from you: Make sure you’ve got proper ventilation wherever you’re sitting down for dinner.

When it comes to your Thanksgiving feast, cracking that window the tiniest bit or leaving a screen door ajar can make a huge difference. “Even in a cold environment, it’s possible to open up a window,” Marc Siegel, MD, director of infectious diseases at George Washington University, recently told ABC News. “You might be losing some of the heat, but at least opening up a window on each side of the room to allow some room air to circulate.”

Not to mention, it can get pretty stuffy if you’re cooking a huge spread with all of the windows closed. So, it may be a smart idea to open them up a tiny bit anyway. And if you live in a warmer climate, you may want to consider just having your Thanksgiving dinner outside to cut down on the risk of coming down with COVID-19!

In addition to adding proper ventilation, you can safe-guard yourself even more by not going out often in the days leading up to your dinner. You can also have everyone in attendance take a COVID-19 test in advance. Communicating with guests beforehand about what’ll make everyone the most comfortable is crucial for ensuring that people come with the right expectations.

By taking just a few of these precautions, you’ll help keep COVID-19 at bay this Thanksgiving and enjoy your dinner with a little more peace of mind!