Jack-o’-lanterns are lit on front porches, neighborhood streets are blanketed in colorful leaves, mulled apple cider is simmering on the stove, and children are putting the finishing touches on costumes and trick-or-treating routes. But with only a fraction of children vaccinated, families are still looking for safe ways for young people to enjoy daily activities, which include gatherings and holidays, such as Halloween. Much like last year, when vaccines were not yet available, young trick-or-treaters will have to take precautions.
This Halloween, unvaccinated individuals should think carefully about donning a mask, especially when indoors or in outdoor areas with crowds, and in areas of potentially high transmission. Here are tips to keep everyone safe:
- Do much of your celebrating outdoors, as transmission of any virus is largely mitigated by being outside with more space between people and lots of fresh air flowing. Skip indoor parties and stick to trick-or-treating only.
- Reduce the spread of germs by placing individually wrapped treats on a table for trick-or-treaters to grab themselves. Contact by directly handing candy to children could needlessly increase the risk of transmission.
- Make a paper or fabric mask part of the costume, ensuring it covers the nose and mouth.
- Avoid participation in events where candy is handed out from trunks in parking lots. These events force crowds to congregate in small areas.
- Consider a reverse Halloween setup in which costumed children stand in their own yards and neighborhood participants drive around tossing candy to them on the lawn.
COVID-19 vaccines have returned some semblance of normalcy to millions of people’s lives. However, unvaccinated children still need to be on guard as they navigate events like Halloween.
