To be honest, I’ve been worrying a lot about Thanksgiving. The only thing I’m more concerned about than another COVID-19 surge is the risk of getting one of my elderly relatives sick, so I was looking forward to the chance to talk to infectious disease experts about how to keep everyone safe during the holiday. The conversations weren’t exactly comforting, though: while the situation isn’t as severe as earlier in the pandemic, what really stood out was that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for navigating Thanksgiving this year. How much risk we’re taking really depends on our own individual circumstances: our individual health situations, whether our families include people at high risk for serious COVID-19 disease, and where we live. As Shruti Mehta, a professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University put it, “I've had this conversation many times, but I don't have a general answer of what you do, because it's a conversation.”
Based on these conversations with experts, here’s where I’ve landed: Once we understand the recommended precautions for protecting ourselves and others from COVID-19 (including getting vaccines and booster shots, social distancing around the holiday, and masking up) we need to ask ourselves a few relatively straightforward questions:
Who is most important to protect? Who in your family is unvaccinated? Are there any elderly relatives who, vaccinated or not, are more vulnerable to severe disease? Are there any young children who aren’t fully vaccinated? Will I be returning home to someone who is at high risk for a serious infection?
What’s happening in my community? Is COVID-19 spreading rapidly where I’m going, or where I’m heading from?
Am I keeping safe in the weeks before and after Thanksgiving? Am I masking up? Am I visiting restaurants, social gatherings or other places where I have a lot of contact with friends and other strangers?
What can I do at the gathering to keep my family safe? Is everyone getting tested beforehand? Could we all wear masks most of the night, or eat the meal outside?
What level of risk am I willing to accept? What would I need in place to make me feel safe at Thanksgiving—and at what point would I need to stay home?
Once you’ve asked these questions of yourself, it’s important to keep the conversation going with whoever you’re planning to gather with. The sooner you start talking about Thanksgiving, the sooner you can feel assured that you and your family are doing everything you can to keep each other safe.
More than 558 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, of which almost 444.8 million doses have been administered, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 58.9% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
Nearly 255 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 5.1 million people have died. On Nov. 17, there were 610,024 new cases and 8,656 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 47.4 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 767,400 people have died. On Nov. 17, there were 111,106 new cases and 1,620 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Nov. 18, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Leaders in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria are tightening COVID-19 restrictions after each country reported record-breaking daily numbers of new COVID-19 cases over the last week.
In Germany, which reported a daily record of 68,366 new cases yesterday, legislators passed new restrictions today, including requirements for vaccination, recovery from COVID-19, or testing for visiting communal workplaces and using public transportation, per the Associated Press.
Similarly, the Czech Republic reported a single-day record of 22,585 new cases yesterday, authorities announced today that, starting Monday, people without a vaccination pass or proof of a past infection will be barred from restaurants, bars, and large events and will be refused at indoor services, like hair salons, the New York Times reports.
Meanwhile, leaders Salzburg and Upper Austria, two states in Austria, will place unvaccinated people under a strict lockdown, only permitting them to leave their homes for essential purposes like grocery shopping, according to Politico.
The U.S. government signed its biggest deal yet for a coronavirus treatment: a $5.29 billion agreement to purchase 10 million treatment courses of a Pfizer antiviral drug, if it’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Pfizer announced today. Earlier this month, Pfizer said the pill reduces hospitalizations and deaths by 89% when given to high-risk adults with early COVID-19 symptoms. President Joe Biden said today in a statement that his administration is working to ensure it’s “easily accessible and free” to the public.
About two weeks after the U.S. FDA authorized vaccines for young children, 2.6 million kids ages 5 to 11 have received an initial dose—about 10% of that population, Jeffrey Zients, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, announced yesterday. Zients noted that the pace of vaccination is picking up; twice as many children were vaccinated during the second week than the first week after the authorization was announced.
Between 700,000 and 1.6 million Americans with COVID-19 lost their ability to smell for at least six months after infection, a new study published in JAMA today estimated. The study noted that the condition can affect eating habits, contribute to depression, and generally reduce quality of life for those suffering.
Planning a Disney Cruise? Starting Jan. 13, all passengers over the age of 5 have to be fully vaccinated, the company announced yesterday. Until that date, passengers ages 5 to 11 will be permitted to submit proof of negative tests taken between three days and 24 hours before they set sail. Passengers 4 years and under are required to receive a NAAT test, an at-home rapid PCR test or a lab-based PCR test.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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