USA TODAY International Edition
Virtual Thanksgiving is best amid COVID- 19
Stay safe by skipping in- person family feasts
Excited to see her children and grandchildren, an 80- year- old grandmother traveled halfway across California to visit, eagerly planning all the meals she would cook and share. The family enjoyed elaborate curries and stews, stories and laughs; two weeks later, that woman ended up as a patient in my hospital struggling to breathe. What began as a cough among the family ended up as a life- threatening COVID- 19 infection for the grandmother.
With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays fast approaching, I fear our hospitals across the nation will be filled with more avoidable stories like this. This year for the holidays, we all need to settle for virtual family gatherings rather than in- person get- togethers.
With the coronavirus crisis stretching into its eighth month, it is natural to want to put a pause on social distancing. Thanksgiving is only one day, and it is when family and loved ones should gather and feast. How much more can 2020 take from us?
Unfortunately, to be safe, we should let the pandemic rob us of this timehonored tradition, too. The incidence of COVID- 19 infections continues to rise throughout the country. More ominously, the level of hospitalizations has also risen to magnitudes nearing those in the spring. This is bad news as this number lags behind the rise in deaths. Already at more than 242,000 fatalities, we must brace for more.
The highest risk of transmission of the virus is when there is prolonged, indoor contact ( at least 15 minutes). A communal meal inside the house certainly meets this definition.
CDC study of families
It is also known that spread among family members is not only common, it also can be quick. This was borne out in a recent study from the Centers for Disease and Prevention. The study tracked COVID- 19 positive people, each living with others who did not have the virus. At the end of the study, 53% of all the family members in the different households tested positive. Most caught it within five days.
Other studies from the CDC also push back against the myth that children cannot spread the virus. Adolescents have been identified as the source of several COVID- 19 outbreaks.
No matter how you slice it, large indoor family gatherings will put people at risk of coronavirus infections. Asymptomatic infections exist, and even with available testing, there are many false negatives. The risk is just too high to get the extended family together for turkey this year.
In fact, this danger can be seen in Canada. Almost like a crystal ball into the future, Canada celebrates Thanks
giving in October. The holiday is now being blamed for leading to a surge of outbreaks.
And it’s not just the elderly and vulnerable who are at risk of dying and serious illness. Thousands of young people in the United States have been hospitalized with COVID- 19, and many have died. Some young people have recovered from the virus but continue to struggle with complications that we are still learning about.
Life- changing symptoms
These “long haulers” deal with prolonged and life- changing symptoms that can include debilitating fatigue, difficulty concentrating, post- traumatic stress disorder and asthma- like syndromes. Even athletes in peak physical condition, such as an NFL running back, have succumbed to COVID- 19 and its complications.
The grandmother who drove across the state to see her family spent weeks on a ventilator and, sadly, she eventually died. Her children and grandchildren had fevers and coughs from COVID- 19, but they recovered.
This year continues to be a struggle, but insisting on in- person holiday gatherings will only prolong the suffering by increasing the risk of spread. The numbers continue to rise, but we can slow it down by limiting indoor gatherings, wearing masks and socially distancing. Opt for virtual family reunions for Thanksgiving and the winter holidays this year. You may miss your mother’s sweet potato casserole or your brother’s special cranberry sauce, but your family will be healthier.
Dr. Thomas K. Lew, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, is an assistant clinical professor of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and an attending physician of Hospital Medicine at Stanford Health Care– ValleyCare.
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