Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Millions Of Americans Board Planes For Thanksgiving, Despite Public Health Warnings
AP: Millions Stick To Thanksgiving Travel Plans Despite Warnings
About 1 million Americans a day packed airports and planes over the weekend even as coronavirus deaths surged across the U.S. and public health experts begged people to stay home and avoid big Thanksgiving gatherings. And the crowds are only expected to grow. Next Sunday is likely to be the busiest day of the holiday period. (11/24)
Reuters: Thanksgiving Travelers Give U.S. Airports Their Busiest Weekend Since March
More than 3 million airline passengers passed through U.S. airports over the weekend, disregarding calls to avoid Thanksgiving trips and making it the busiest air-travel weekend since coronavirus lockdowns hit in mid-March. The Transportation Security Administration reported the traffic based on traveler numbers at airport security checkpoints. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday urged Americans not to travel during this week’s Thanksgiving holiday to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus as cases of COVID-19 spike around the United States. (Shepardson and Rucinski, 11/23)
Boston Globe: Millions Of Americans Are Traveling For Thanksgiving Despite Warnings About COVID-19 From Public Health Officials
Millions of Americans have begun to scatter across the country for the Thanksgiving holiday, despite warnings from public health officials and elected leaders to refrain from traveling as coronavirus infections surge to alarming levels. While passenger volumes at Logan International Airport and other airports across the country remain far lower than last year, Sunday marked the country’s busiest air travel day since mid-March, with nearly 1.05 million passengers crossing security checkpoints. It was only the third time since the earliest weeks of the pandemic that more than 1 million passengers flew in a day — and the second since Friday, according to Transportation Security Administration data. (Vaccaro, Gardizy and Kaufman, 11/23)
Reuters: U.S. Holiday Travelers Voice Dread, Determination As They Defy COVID-19 Warnings
Millions of Americans appeared to be disregarding public health warnings and traveling ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, likely fueling an alarming surge in coronavirus infections before a series of promising new vaccines are expected to become widely available. ... “I’m really scared, but seeing family is very important to me,” Hannah Osnan, 18, a California State University Long Beach student waiting in line for a COVID-19 diagnostic test at Los Angeles International Airport, where she hoped to board a 22-hour flight to see family in Egypt for the first time in a year. (Trotta and Layne, 11/23)
AP: Thanksgiving Could Be Make-Or-Break In US Virus Response
In Pennsylvania, if you’re having friends over to socialize, you’re supposed to wear a mask — and so are your friends. That’s the rule, but Barb Chestnut has no intention of following it. “No one is going to tell me what I can or not do in my own home” said Chestnut, 60, of Shippensburg. “They do not pay my bills and they are not going to tell me what to do.” (Rubinkam, 11/24)
AP: Health Officials Beg People To Be Cautious At Thanksgiving
Doctors and health officials on Monday pleaded with people to take precautions during Thanksgiving — such as skipping large indoor gatherings — as the state and nation experiences an unchecked spread in COVID-19. “Please do everything you can possibly do to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. We don’t want this to be the last ever Thanksgiving for someone in your family like your parents or grandparents,” Harris said. (Chandler, 11/24)
