RELATED: Dr. Fauci Warns Vaccinated People Not to Gather Before Doing This. During a Dec. 17 interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Fauci said that it is still safe for vaccinated people to gather for the winter holidays, even amid the Omicron variant. But if you’ve secured your shots, you will still want to take some additional safety precautions this year—especially in the days leading up to a holiday gathering. Leana Wen, MD, a medical analyst and former Baltimore City health commissioner, told CNN that vaccinated people should consider quarantining for at least three days before visiting and gathering with others. If a person is vaccinated, “ideally they leave three days in between, essentially they quarantine in that period, and get tested again,” especially before visiting any older or immunocompromised individuals, Wen said. These extra precautions among vaccinated people are important because Omicron is causing “a lot of breakthrough infections” right now, according to Fauci. Growing research is suggesting that most COVID vaccines offer no protection against symptomatic infections with the new variant, The New York Times recently reported. While all vaccines still seem to provide significant protection against severe COVID, even with Omicron, only Pfizer and Moderna shots reinforced by a booster appear to have some ability to stave off infections altogether. Vaccinated people might end up experiencing only asymptomatic infection or mild illness, but they can still pass the virus to unvaccinated people and those at high risk for severe COVID. An Oct. 29 study published in The Lancet found that even vaccinated people with little to no symptoms could transmit the virus to other people in their household. “People with vaccine breakthrough infections may spread COVID-19 to others,” the Mayo Clinic confirms. However, the health organization notes that some research has shown that “it appears that vaccinated people spread COVID-19 for a shorter period than do unvaccinated people.” RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Other experts are also advising people take a COVID test before gathering to ensure a safe holiday. Eileen Knightly, RN, chief nursing officer at OSF HealthCare Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park, Illinois, said that even those fully vaccinated and boosted should test themselves if they’re getting together with people they do not live with. According to Knightly, you should be testing very close to the time you’re going to gather and everyone attending should also test themselves. “We had a significant surge after Thanksgiving so I think it’s going to be really important for everyone to be all in. I think this is something that everyone has to do,” she said. “If everyone isn’t all in, you could end up in a bad situation at a family gathering when you didn’t need to be.“ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb The CDC also endorses some type of quarantining and testing before the holidays, particularly if you’re planning to travel and gather with a large group. “If you are gathering with a group of people from multiple households and potentially from different parts of the country, you could consider additional precautions (e.g., avoiding crowded indoor spaces before travel, taking a test) in advance of gathering to further reduce risk,” the CDC recommends. RELATED: Dr. Fauci Warns Vaccinated People Not to Do This as Omicron Spreads.
