It seems if proper precautions aren't taken around holiday gatherings, spreading the cheer could mean spreading the virus.
With the rise of the highly contagious Omicron variant, holiday party hosts should require guests to be vaccinated or tested for COVID-19, according to Dr. Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health.
"Families can reunite more safely if they ensure that everyone is vaccinated and boosted," says Dr. Vermund, "and they can also use testing... when people get tested within 48 hours or so before the event."
Vermund says taking the available precautions can protect you, your family and the public, as hospitals around the nation are beginning to buckle under the pressure.
While Connecticut's hospitals have been able to handle the case load so far (736 hospitalized statewide, according to statistics posted Friday by the CT Dept. of Public Health), the trends are troubling. COVID hospitalizations across Connecticut are up 78% since Dec. 2.
COVID admissions doubled in the Yale New Haven Health system between Monday and Friday of this week.
Also this week, Connecticut surpassed 9,000 COVID deaths since the start of the global pandemic.
Vermund expects Omicron to overtake Delta as the dominant variant, saying, "I think it's likely that Omicron has a competitive advantage over Delta. It transmits more easily, and thereford will displace Delta over time."
