72 percent plan to celebrate holidays with just their household: poll

Most American adults intend to take COVID-19-related precautions as they prepare to celebrate the holiday season with their loved ones.

Seventy-two percent of people who took part in a national survey from the Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center said they planned to celebrate the holidays with only members of their household, compared to 79 percent last year.

The poll also showed that just over half of the people surveyed would ask their guests to wear masks at holiday parties this year, compared to 67 percent in 2020. 

“If everyone in attendance is vaccinated and are without major health risks, you can have a safe gathering without a lot of additional precautions. With all guests vaccinated, you don’t need to use masks or force the celebration outdoors. You can have a normal holiday as you would any other year,” Iahn Gonsenhauser, who serves as chief quality and patient safety officer at Ohio State, said in a statement.

“Unvaccinated individuals really pose the greatest threat, and that’s when it becomes necessary to put some rules and precautions in place, even though those conversations can be a little bit awkward,” Gonsenhauser added. 

Half of people surveyed said they would ask their guests about their vaccination status, and 46 percent said they intended to ask unvaccinated guests to test negative for COVID-19 before attending the gathering, according to the poll. 

The survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Wexner Medical Center. It took place from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 and included 2,042 U.S. adults.

Nearly 60 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as the country battles a daily case average of more than 80,000, according to The New York Times.