Weighing your Thanksgiving risk in Chicago

A month ago Chicago looked on-track to open up for the holidays. But from October 22 to today, COVID-19 cases have almost doubled.

Why it matters: With only about a third of Chicago seniors boosted and 20% of little kids partially vaccinated, some families might reconsider multi-generational Thanksgiving dinners.

What they're saying: "If you are not fully vaccinated you should think about not gathering at the holidays," health commissioner Allison Arwady said in an online address Tuesday.

• "But if you are going to gather, I would recommend taking a COVID test before."
• "It's the mixing of unvaccinated, or partially unvaccinated with other families, that starts to amplify that risk," University of Chicago infectious disease specialist Allison Bartlett told the Tribune.

Yes but: Compared with last Thanksgiving, Chicago is doing a lot better.

• Back then, local COVID cases were twice as high as they are today .
• Yay for that, right?

The bottom line: Every Thanksgiving group has a different calculus to make when it comes to deciding where, how and with whom to gather tomorrow.

• But people who decide to hold off 'til Christmas — when cases are (hopefully) down and everyone is (hopefully) vaccinated or boosted — can point to the above chart while they wish their cousins Happy Thanksgiving on Zoom.