Boston

With new variant on the rise, here's how to avoid COVID during your holiday travels

Doctors also say there’s a new vaccine you can take but it's not mandatory. In fact, only 17% of Massachusetts residents have taken it so far. But if you are considered high risk, you are being urged to consider it

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It's the holiday weekend and another wave of passengers flooded Boston Logan International Airport Friday morning.

While passengers rushed to beat out the morning rush to the Transportation Security Administration lines, those behind them will soon all be in one terminal or in a full flight — the breeding ground for respiratory illnesses, specifically COVID.

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"It's a familiar story at this point. Every couple months, we hear that a new variant is here to replace the previous variant," said Dr. Shira Doron of Tufts Medical Center.

Doron said the new variant is called JN-. It derives from omicron and it's highly contagious. In fact, she said as of late, she has seen an uptick in positive COVID cases locally.

Some states in the New England that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said has "high" or "very high" levels of COVID are Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Doron said vaccines or masking up is not mandatory but if you're traveling, it's recommended.

"I'm going to wear the mask," said a passenger at Boston Logan.

"Just to be safe, I'm going to visit my 94-year-old mother and don't want to bring anything to her," said Ann Griggs, who was headed to Texas.

After all, the holidays are all about having fun, being healthy and of course, the good eats.

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