MARCH 18 • 2021 | 15

everyone will have received their 
second dose of the vaccine at 
least two weeks before the start of 
Passover.

RISK FACTORS
For those who plan to gather in 
person, Dr. Carl Lauter, an infec-
tious disease and allergy immu-
nology physician at Beaumont 
Health and professor at Oakland 
University William Beaumont 
School of Medicine, offers some 
advice on how to approach 
Passover this year.
“The biggest mistake people 
can make is to think that the vac-
cine is a ‘get out of jail free’ card. 
It’s far from that,
” he said. 
For those considering an 
in-person seder, Lauter suggests 
thinking about who will be seated 
around the table. Based on his 
recommendation, there should 
actually be multiple tables to 

ensure adequate social distancing. 
Some of the factors to consider 
when planning for the holiday 
include looking at who will be 
there. Will there be kids? What 
about older adults or others who 
are regarded as high risk?
“My advice is to forget the vac-
cine. Social distance because we 
don’t have herd immunity yet. You 
can get together, but it’s the old 
caveat emptor, let the buyer beware. 
The vaccine is no guarantee. 
“Until we get herd immunity, 
we still have to social distance, 
and we still have to wear a 
mask. So how do you eat when 
you’re wearing a mask? It only 
works if you’re in a facility that 
has pretty decent ventilation, 
or you can open the doors and 
windows and let fresh air circu-
late,” said Lauter. “I wish it was 
easier. But right now, it’s not. 
We’re stuck.” 

“THERE WILL PROBABLY BE
EIGHT OF US TOGETHER,
BUT WE WILL STILL ZOOM

WITH EVERYONE ELSE.”

— ELAYNE MOSS

MELISSA ZEIDMAN

The Levin family’s seder table last year
BELOW: Last year’s Moss Zoom seder.

