Have a Healthy Holiday Season

With the holiday season approaching and COVID-19 cases continuing to rise across the country, make sure you and your family are able to have a healthy holiday. Follow these tips to stay healthy through the holidays.

Get your family vaccinated.

• Vaccines are our best protection. All three available vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) are safe and effectively reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.
• Booster doses of the vaccine are available for individuals at higher risk.
• Children as young as five years old can now be vaccinated. Before celebrating with family, make sure that everyone who can be vaccinated is.
• Schedule your vaccine today at OwensboroHealth.org/Vaccine or find other locations at Vaccines.gov.
• Follow Owensboro Health on Facebook for updates to vaccine availability and other COVID-19 updates for your region.

Celebrate with safe activities.

Large gatherings present a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, but there are lots of lower-risk activities families can do:

• Take drives to look at Christmas lights in your neighborhood or at organized light displays. Owensboro Health is sponsoring a free night for the community at Christmas At Panther Creek, the annual holiday drive-thru light display on December 9. 
• Have a cookie swap with neighbors or friends! Organize participants and have each person drop off their goodies on the doorstep of another participant! This way, everyone gets a treat!

• Find joy in giving. Take time to donate to food pantries, toy closets and angel trees to help those most in need.

• Send holiday cards. You can send traditional cards to friends and family, but to make things extra special, have your kids create cards to send to nursing homes and children’s hospitals and spread extra cheer.
• Have a Christmas movie night! Grab the blankets, pillows and snacks and watch your favorite classic Christmas movie. You can even do a quick internet search and find a list of movies to make it a marathon.
• Send a letter to Santa. Grab the kids and write a letter to Santa from the whole family.  

Adjust your holiday gatherings.

• Keep gatherings small. The more people at your gathering, the higher the risk.
• Indoor activities where people from different households mix are a higher risk for everyone—especially for unvaccinated individuals. Hold your gathering outdoors if possible.
• Serve food and drinks in individual servings instead of “buffet style” and provide hand sanitizer in multiple locations.
• Face masks are recommended at gatherings where not everyone has been vaccinated.
• Because vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can carry COVID-19 without showing symptoms, wear a mask when around people who are vulnerable to more serious outcomes if infected with COVID-19.

Stay home if you might be sick.

• It might feel disappointing to miss out on a holiday party, but it will feel worse if you are responsible for spreading the virus to other partygoers. 
• Do not attend celebrations or participate in activities if you feel sick, or if you have come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19 - especially if you are not fully vaccinated.

Be vigilant.

• Monitor your family for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days after participating in any festivities. Pay special attention from days 3-7, when people are most likely to develop symptoms.
• If you had close contact with someone who later tests positive, you should get tested and stay home to quarantine if you’re not fully vaccinated. If you do not feel well, or if you test positive, stay home to isolate yourself regardless of your vaccination status.

Be flexible.

• Have a conversation with your family members to set expectations about celebrating. Be considerate of other family members that may be more or less comfortable attending gatherings.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccines and testing, visit OwensboroHealth.org.