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With the 2021 holiday season quickly approaching, families are discussing how to safely gather amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this time last year, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech had just announced that their vaccine was 90% effective in preventing the disease, though vaccinations of health care workers and other members of the first priority group would not start until December.
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Now, more than 194 million Americans have been fully vaccinated and millions of children ages 5-11 became eligible to receive their shots last week.
The White House said Wednesday that about 900.000 kids in that age group will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility and about 700,000 first-shot appointments are scheduled for the coming days.
While cases in the U.S. are declining, Americans can still take steps to make their gatherings safe for all involved.
At-home COVID-19 tests, for example, can provide a level of protection combined with vaccination.
A family video chats on Christmas (Credit: iStock)
While home kits are not as accurate as PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests at hospitals and testing sites, they are able to provide results within minutes.
Testing kits are available at drugstores without a prescription and a box containing two tests typically sells for approximately $25.
Most tests require swabbing about half an inch inside both nostrils.
Adults and teenagers can test themselves and an adult can test a child as young as 2 years old.
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If the test detects a viral protein in the sample, it will return a positive result.
However, some home tests will miss infections and – though rare – mistakenly indicate an infection.
One test misses approximately 15 out of 100 infections and gives a false positive result in about 1 in 100 people who aren’t infected by the virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that those who have and have not been vaccinated wear a well-fitting mask in public indoor settings in communities with substantial to high transmission and avoid poorly ventilated or crowded spaces.
Masks should not be put on children younger than 2 years old.
Those who are not yet eligible for vaccinations can be protected by getting themselves and other eligible people vaccinated.
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The agency has also released travel guidance for both domestic and international travel.
Vaccination remains the best way to protect against COVID-19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report