(CNN) Almost 7 in 10 Americans say they plan to spend Thanksgiving with the same number of people (63%) or even more people (5%) than they did pre-Covid, according to new Monmouth University poll numbers -- data that suggest people are getting back to their normal holiday routines even as the number of cases continues to trend higher across much of the United States.
The difference between how Americans are spending this Thanksgiving compared to how they spent last Thanksgiving is stark. Last year just 46% of people told Monmouth they would be with the same number (or more) people that Thanksgiving as in pre-Covid celebrations. A majority (53%) said they would spend time with fewer people than normal over the holidays in 2020; that number is down to 31% this year.
While the Covid infection case rate is going up in the country, the situation we find ourselves in this year is very different than the one we were in last year. Vaccinations are widely available and 59% of Americans are fully vaccinated. The virus primarily poses a threat -- in terms of hospitalization and death -- to the people who are unvaccinated and people whose immune systems do not mount a response to the vaccine due to underlying medical conditions.
Experts suggest that the number of people who have previously been vaccinated, combined with the number of people who have been infected by Covid-19, means that this winter will likely be the last season in which Covid-19 is considered a pandemic as opposed to endemic.
The Point: Which means by next Thanksgiving, this will all be behind us. We all should hope so.