Poll: COVID-19 won’t affect Thanksgiving plans for most Americans

(ABC 6 News) – Thanksgiving will be here before we know it, and with rising COVID-19 infections and vaccines widely available, will your holiday be impacted?

A new poll released from Rasmussen Reports shows COVID-19 won’t affect Thanksgiving plans for most Americans. That’s four out of five Americans that say they will gather together for Thanksgiving.

79 percent of American adults say they’re planning on getting together with family or friends on Thanksgiving.

That number is up 50 percent from last year.

Health officials in Olmsted County understand why people want to be with family this year, they’re just asking you to be safe and get vaccinated if you haven’t been already.

"It doesn’t surprise me that people want to get together and see their family. This has been almost 22 months we have been dealing with it, we are social beings we need some type of way to see people, but doing it safely is the most important part," Amy Evans, emergency preparedness coordinator for Olmsted County Public Health said.

But not everyone wants to get together this year. The report shows 13 percent won’t be gathering with family or friends for the holiday.

Evans says if you do plan to gather with family, take safety measures so you don’t pass on the virus.

This includes being mindful of large group settings and if you have symptoms for COVID-19, get tested.

"We want to make sure if you’re coughing, if you’re symptomatic, stay home. We’ve said this before, but stay home when you’re sick," Evans said.

The report also shows 66 percent of Americans will spend Thanksgiving at home, while 27 percent will travel for the holiday.

That number is up from 22 percent from last Thanksgiving.

ABC 6 NEWS spoke to two people in Rochester who are visiting the area from South Dakota.

They say they’re ready for the holidays, their family is vaccinated and they say, it makes them feel comfortable going into Thanksgiving.

"We’re all been vaccinated and know we have strong antibodies by testing so we really don’t like to associate with people who aren’t vaccinated. So we’re very big on being vaccinated," Walter Carlson, a Rochester visitor said.

The report also states the pandemic hasn’t impacted holiday plans for 72 percent of Americans but has for 23 percent.