Fighting quarantine fatigue with yet another newsletter. I love all of your emails, links and memes –you can find them in my past newsletters. I’m also thrilled to hear that people are forwarding this along – if you’re new, join my mailing list. And, as always, thanks for protecting yourself and others by staying home when you can, washing your hands slightly obsessively, and masking up!

The topic of how to travel safely during the pandemic – or whether one should travel at all – is not new. It is, however, badly in need of a reframe. That’s because the most frequent debate here seems to revolve around how people plan to get to their destination rather than thinking about what they’re going to do when they get there. It turns out the latter question is the far more important one. And equally relevant is a wake-up call to those who opt to stay put. Depending upon how a family spends a staycation, remaining at home can be just as fraught. Today’s newsletter is a practical guide to upcoming holiday vacations as the coronavirus case count continues to climb across the U.S. and we all dream of taking a break.
 
It’s not about the flight. People are really fixated on air travel, which is fine but it’s only one tiny piece of the puzzle. Between mandatory masking on planes, reduced seat occupancy, and air filtration systems that could make hospitals blush, airlines have done an outstanding job of increasing travel safety. For those who opt to fly, I recommend a mask + shield in the airport and on the flight because, well, why not? The extra layer of protection also acts as an extra deterrent from touching your face or even eating and drinking, basically keeping coronavirus far from your airway. But be forewarned: it gets hot under all of those layers and if you are traveling with someone else, with the added bonus of in-flight background noise, they absolutely will not be able to hear a word you utter.
 
When you stay at a hotel… let go of those residual images of the ultraviolet light exposé you saw on some random investigative journalism show – these germs are no longer your biggest worry. Instead, think about the common spaces in the hotel, and do your best to steer clear. Avoid hanging out in the lobby and skip working out at the gym.
 
When you have to eat out for every meal… opt for outdoor dining or low-density, well-ventilated indoor spaces. And be aware of the impact of booze. When people drink, the filter comes off – they tend to do things like speak louder, lean in towards one another, and these days, unmask – all risks for viral spread.
 
When you rent a house and can cook meals… congratulations! Well planned! But if you are meeting up with other families – really, it’s other germ pools –you haven’t beaten the system. There are a zillion stories online about two or three families that get together for a super-safe COVID vacay just to wind up extremely ill back at home the following week.
 
When you have to plan your day… be prepared that your brilliant idea is not unique. If you get to a destination and find it crowded or otherwise not COVID-safe, leave. In other words, this should be the opposite of pretty much every vacation you’ve ever taken, unless you’re the person who aims to do things like spend the day hiking on solitary trails.
 
When you skip the travel and stay home… you definitely minimize your COVID risk. But that’s only true if you don’t host the holidays at your place. It’s tempting to rationalize the victory of not travelling by inviting groups of other brilliantly like-minded people to your house. Even if you remain outside (which is the safest bet, for sure), other safety mitigations need to be in place, too: masks, distancing, etc. It’s never cool to host the inadvertent superspreader event.
 
The bottom line about travel this holiday season is this: everything you don’t want to hear is true. We live in a country with one of the highest daily new case rates in the world, and our numbers continue to get worse and worse. This isn’t about avoiding international travel to remain safe. Nor is it about driving over flying. It’s about common sense. Which, let’s face it, sucks the fun out of everything right now. All we want to do is to get away, be with people, let loose. A year ago, the assumption was that the holidays meant all three, but now we would settle for even one.
 
The theme of the links today is confusion. Lots of articles in the press this week throw shade on what we have all thought to be true over the past few months.
 
  • Starting with the changing definition of close contact – if you have spent at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of a person diagnosed with COVID, you are a primary contact. As of this week, that 15 minutes is cumulative over a full day, meaning if you spent a total of 15 minutes in proximity over the course of 24 hours – like, 1 minute an hour for 15 hours – get ready to quarantine.

 
  • The reevaluation is a result of new studies showing that reopening schools likely doesn’t increase coronavirus spread, a result so exciting it has been covered all over the place including here and here. And this article points out that child care centers are non-spreaders, too. Whether this is a function of schools and day care centers following safety protocols or kids being less capable of transmitting the disease effectively, it’s the best news of the week.
 
  • On the therapeutics front, even though blood plasma therapy – touted for its ability to deliver coronavirus antibodies – received emergency use authorization this summer, new research suggests it’s not effective.
 
  • And finally, there’s this: a new epic debate among infectious disease specialists, public health folks, and politicians. On one side is the Great Barrington Declaration, a document claiming that we must build herd immunity to coronavirus by, basically, exposing everyone who is not “vulnerable” to it. On the other side is the John Snow Memorandum (no, I did not make up these names!), which says it’s downright dangerous to take the Great Barrington/herd immunity approach. I will share my bias here: I completely agree with John Snow for a number of reasons. The one that stands out most for me is the fact that we live in a country where poor people and people of color tend to live in multi-generational homes. We all know that as people get older, their risk of dying from COVID rises sharply. When we marry these two facts, we land in a very dark place – insisting that young and less-vulnerable people build immunity (short for: get infected and then develop antibodies) is a potential death threat for the older family members who live with and among them. Not to mention that youth does not really equal invulnerable in the eyes of COVID. Want more? Read this.
 
As always, I need a laugh.