PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thanksgiving traditions: the turkey, the stuffing and … the COVID-19 test? Some people have taken an extra precaution this year before gathering for Thanksgiving.
Dawnmarie Hackett Clemmons of Philadelphia says this is her first Thanksgiving gathering through the pandemic. She asked all eligible guests to be vaccinated and also take a COVID-19 test before coming to her house.
"Everyone was OK with it. They want to be safe, too, and we all want to keep safe, and we have a lot of elders in our family."
Susan from Bala Cynwyd says her concern was her teenage son living in his college dorm.
"I tested my son, who came home from college. We used Binax, which is a rapid COVID test, and he was negative, thankfully," she said.
Shelves are empty at the CVS Pharmacy on City Line Avenue in Philadelphia. The store manager says they sold out of rapid COVID-19 tests the Tuesday before Thanksgiving as people bought them ahead of their family gatherings.Hadas Kuznits/KYW Newsradio
But Dr. Judith O'Donnell, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center chief of infectious diseases, says COVID-19 tests aren't required in every situation.
"If everybody is vaccinated and nobody has had an exposure, then testing is an option to consider as an additional layer of protection before you gather," O'Donnell said.
O'Donnell says what you really want to watch for are reasons to get tested after your gathering.
"If some of the people with whom you gathered develop symptoms, those people should immediately go and get tested," she said.
