New Holiday Guidance In PA: What CDC Says On Masking, Travel

PENNSYLVANIA — With Halloween and Thanksgiving quickly approaching, the CDC has issued updated COVID-19 holiday guidance that recommends masking in certain situations and reiterates calls for the public to get vaccinated. Stricter mitigation measures, like capacity limits or avoiding indoor gatherings altogether, are not a part of the new guidance.

The latest from the CDC, issued Monday, does suggest that unvaccinated Pennsylvanians should always wear masks indoors. Fully vaccinated individuals should wear masks in communities with substantial or high transmission levels of the virus.

"Protect those not yet eligible for vaccination such as young children by getting yourself and other eligible people around them vaccinated," the CDC says.

An unvaccinated person is six times more likely to test positive with the coronavirus and 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19, compared to a fully vaccinated person, according to CDC research.

There is little surprising in the updated guidance, which comes just two weeks after the CDC preemptively issued much more stringent holiday recommendations on its website, before suddenly taking them down. That original set of guidelines, apparently posted in error, stated that travel should be avoided and that indoor gatherings should be skipped by both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

The new guidelines note that outdoor gatherings are safer than indoor gatherings, but go no farther than stating that common piece of mitigation advice.

Other precautions are recommended if gatherings involve individuals from multiple households or multiple parts of the country. Specifically, taking a COVID-19 test, as well as avoiding crowded indoor spaces before travel, is recommended to reduce risk.

As far as guidance for traveling, the CDC says Pennsylvanians should not travel unless they are fully vaccinated.

If you do travel, short road trips, or flights with no layovers, are considered safer than road trips with many stops.

Long distance train and bus trips, as well as cruise ships or river boats, are to be avoided, the CDC says.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia PolicyLab recently expressed optimism that COVID-19 numbers would trend down in region the fall, but they warned that holidays could be a bump in the road.

"Much work remains as fall gatherings will, at the very least, prolong the country's recovery," the Lab's latest report states. "During this stretch, communities that adopt practical, time-limited strategies to curb transmission when case numbers are high can ensure that resuming more and more activities can be done safely for our children and families."

As always, if you're sick or have symptoms, do not attend any gathering.

Statewide, 70.7 percent of all Pennsylvanians over the age of 18 are fully vaccinated. The state ranks 5th in the nation for total shots administered.

The CDC's full guidance can be viewed online.