ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As you gather for the Thanksgiving holiday, doctors say it’s not a good idea to mix people who are vaccinated for COVID-19 with those who are not.
Dr. Chris Pernell is a fellow with the American College of Preventive Medicine. She says the best thing you can do to lower your risk of contracting the virus is to get vaccinated and don't travel if you're not. Second, have rapid antigen tests on hand to test for COVID.
"This way if there is a possibility that someone has an asymptomatic infection that that person can be isolated from the group and we don't spread," Pernell said. "We don't want our holidays to spread the possibility of death and further disease."
Dr. Pernell has lost family to COVID-19 including her father and a cousin. She’s encouraging you to not only get vaccinated against the virus, but many other diseases as well including influenza.
The American College of Preventive Medicine reports more than 26 million vaccines have been missed during the pandemic.
The group has a new campaign called Vaccine Confident. You can learn more about vaccinations on their website.