Dr. Anthony Fauci had a hopeful message for families wishing to get together this holiday season after many had to scrap their gatherings last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“If you get vaccinated and your family’s vaccinated, you can feel good about enjoying a typical Thanksgiving, Christmas with your family and close friends,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday during a meeting hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Fauci and other experts to discussed what is next for the nation with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic during the meeting.
The White House’s chief medical adviser said that while indoor gatherings with vaccinated family members can happen this year, people should continue to be cautious in general.
“When you go to indoor congregate settings, go the extra mile. Be safe, wear a mask,” Fauci added. “But when you’re with your family at home, goodness, enjoy it with your parents, your children, your grandparents. There’s no reason not to do that.”
New Jersey on Monday reported another 1,147 COVID-19 cases and four confirmed deaths as the state’s daily positive tests have once again started to increase after two months of steady declines.
Fauci said the path forward will depend greatly on people getting vaccinated, which includes booster shots for those who are eligible.
“This will end…we’re not going to be going through this indefinitely,” he said. “How quickly we get to the end depends on us. How well we get vaccinated, how well we get boostered and how well we do the kind of things to protect ourselves.”
Currently, New Jersey follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on booster eligibility. It permits anyone 65 and older, and those between the 18-64 years of age who have a higher chance of exposure due to a job or medical condition, to be eligible for booster shots of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines after six months of the first two shots. Anyone 18 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is eligible for a booster after two months. Mixing and matching of boosters with initial doses is permitted.
On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy hinted that New Jersey will soon expand and simplify COVID-19 vaccine booster eligibility rules.
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