How to ensure your Thanksgiving doesn't turn into a superspreader event

"Vaccines are only as efficacious as the number of people that get them."

With a winter virus surge lurking and no readily available vaccines, Thanksgiving 2020 was very different for most families. This year, expectations are much higher.

But even this year, a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases means public health experts are still urging caution. Health professionals still agree that getting vaccinated is the single best a person can do to protect themselves and their loved ones -- especially unvaccinated children.

"Vaccines are only as efficacious as the number of people that get them. So a good time to remind people to get their COVID vaccines if they're still holding out," said Dr. Molly Fleece, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. "What we do not want to see this year is a so-called twin-demic, where we have peaks of influenza as well as COVID during our holiday season."

Layering different protective measures is the best overall strategy, experts told ABC News. Dr. Anne Liu, an infectious disease and allergy specialist at Stanford University, advises people "to not rely just on vaccination, but to also be thoughtful about when to implement masking and rapid testing."