On Thursday, Nov. 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that Americans stay home for Thanksgiving and only celebrate with people with whom they live.
The reason for the recommendation? In the week before the federal health agency issued its new guidance, there were 1 million new coronavirus infections in the United States.
If people travel this holiday and celebrate with people outside of their household, cases are likely to explode before Christmas, and the nation is already crippled by hospitalizations and deaths.
Watching from the sidelines is President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, including Dr. Céline Gounder. Gounder said tracking the virus’ progression through the country as the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths rise is extremely difficult.
However, while the Biden advisory board can’t actively influence policy until Jan. 20, they are developing a national strategy for managing the pandemic that will be implemented on the first day of Biden’s presidency.
Gounder spoke with Petrie Dish’s Bonnie Petrie about what that blueprint looks like, as well as what the board has planned for testing, schools, racial inequities, and vaccines.
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