I got on Twitter and just started seeing the images and I was watching the nurses and the doctors and everyone in the health care

industry just going through this trauma. I was not you know oh I'm giving myself to this, I'm going to go up and do this, it was just like people needed help. Welcome back to Epidemic, the podcast about the science, public health and

social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

I'm your host Dr. Saline Gounder. We're coming up on the worst stretch of new coronavirus infections since the pandemic started. And unfortunately, it's happening right as many in the United States

would normally be getting ready to travel to spend Thanksgiving

with their families.

This is a big risk at this stage in the pandemic, but it's a dilemma many are struggling with.

Dr Tony Fauchy summed it up well in an interview with Dr Howard Bauchner of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Howard,

of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

You know, Howard, you don't want to be the Grinch that stole the holidays,

but I think one family group and individual has to take a look at what the risk is to your

particular situation and the reason I say that and I feel know, a concern about not doing that, that serious consideration, is that if you look

around the country now, that many of the infections are in small family and friend gatherings such as dinner

parties and small social gatherings.

In this episode of epidemic we're going to share some tips for safely celebrating

Thanksgiving and the other holidays in the coming weeks.

But first, we're going to hear a personal story.

Several months ago, I had someone reach out to me on Twitter wanting to

share his story. In a dark time like this I thought it would be nice to take a minute

to hear about someone who was driven to do whatever they could,

to help at a time when New York needed it most.

So today on epidemic, love and care in a pandemic. John Gunnell is a registered nurse from Arkansas.

...