{"id":9885,"date":"2020-11-18T10:28:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T15:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/?p=9885"},"modified":"2020-11-18T12:42:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T17:42:17","slug":"just-another-urgent-plea-from-your-friendly-id-doctor-for-risk-mitigation-as-the-holiday-season-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nejm.org\/hiv-id-observations\/index.php\/just-another-urgent-plea-from-your-friendly-id-doctor-for-risk-mitigation-as-the-holiday-season-approaches\/2020\/11\/18\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Another Urgent Plea from Your Friendly ID Doctor for Risk Mitigation as the Holiday Season Approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Trivia quiz — name that president.<\/p><\/div>\n

There’s lots in the press about how to have safe holiday gatherings in 2020 as cases of COVID-19 increase pretty much everywhere in this country.<\/p>\n

How about this simple strategy?<\/p>\n

Celebrate only with the people you live with already.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bingo. That way Thanksgiving will be no riskier than your daily meals together.<\/p>\n

End of advice column, right?<\/p>\n

The problem is that this is analogous to advising abstinence for birth control or for prevention of sexually transmitted infections. It’s scientifically accurate, but the chances of 100% adherence by 100% of the population are zero.<\/p>\n

So if we assume that this advice will not be followed by all — and that’s quite a fair assumption<\/a> — how can we mitigate the risk?<\/p>\n

Let’s make a list:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Keep the gathering small.<\/strong> Got a kid in college coming home for vacation? Sorry, the roommate can’t join the fun this year. No neighbors either.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Eat outside.<\/strong> Not so easy in New England, but as my hardy friend said, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad dressers. Plus the long-term forecast predicts warmth! Optimism!<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Stay distanced if indoors.<\/strong> No, there’s nothing magic about 6 feet apart. But 6 feet is safer than 3 feet, and 9 feet is better than 6. You get the idea.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Wear masks while indoors and not eating.<\/strong> You do it now in public. You do it if someone comes to the house for a delivery or an appliance repair. Do it at home too if you have a visitor, even if it’s a family member.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.<\/strong> This is for those who can’t eat outside. Open the windows. All of them. Here’s some more detailed advice from an expert, which most of us ID doctors emphatically are not:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019ve seen a lot of questions about the importance of ventilation and the spread of SARS-CoV2. I have expertise in the science of indoor air quality & want to share some simple steps you can take to make your home & family safer during the pandemic. 1\/<\/p>\n

— Paula Olsiewski (@polsiewski) November 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n