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The American Automobile Association predicts 53.4 million Americans will travel this year for Thanksgiving — 6.4 million more than in 2020.
With 13% more people traveling in 2021, coupled with the recent opening of US borders to international travelers who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, people should prepare for roads and airports to be more crowded.
This year’s holiday travel prediction marks the highest single-year increase in Thanksgiving travelers since 2005, bringing travel volumes close to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
As pandemic restrictions continue to lift and confidence builds, travelers should still be proactive in keeping themselves and others safe when making their travel plans this holiday season.
The U.S. is currently seeing about 115,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases a day, according to the World Health Organization.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination Trusted Source map, which can help people avoid destinations that might be deemed “high risk” at this time.
“Traveling to large, indoor gatherings creates higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Layering multiple mitigation strategies can help reduce the risk of a gathering. The safest holiday gatherings are smaller, shorter, outdoor events where everyone is vaccinated,” Colorado Joint Information Center spokesperson Brian Spencer told Top Class Actions.
The vaccine is the best tool to mitigate the spread of the virus, but many people are still choosing to not get vaccinated. More than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 771,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
“We strongly encourage all people age 5 and up to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible. However, individuals just starting their vaccinations will not be fully protected in time for Thanksgiving, so additional precautions should be considered,” Spencer told Top Class Actions.
Masks are still required for everyone on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the country and also in U.S. transportation hubs, such as airports and stations.
The CDC also recommends everyone wear a mask indoors in public if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
Will Humble, director of Public Health Arizona and former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said that last Thanksgiving was really what lit the match for the huge uptick in cases in December and January.
“If you look back at the epi-curve, you can point to Thanksgiving and say, ‘okay, this is where it really started to go up quickly,’” Humble told Top Class Actions.
Although 195 million Americans are fully vaccinated, Humble doesn’t believe that this is enough to keep COVID from spreading rapidly over the holidays, due to the increased transmissibility of the delta variant.
Humble says that there will be more social mixing this year, and advises that those who are traveling to see their family and friends should get rapid-tested if they are not vaccinated.
“I’d say the rapid test is probably your biggest key to having a successful Thanksgiving without spreading,” Humble told Top Class Actions.
Humble said that people who travel this holiday season unvaccinated are at huge risk of spreading the virus and contributing to the spike in cases.
If you are considering traveling for the holidays, visit the CDC’s travel page to help make a decision about what is best for you and your family. The CDC still recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated.
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