LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — McCarran International Airport was set to be very busy Monday morning as people return home from a long Labor Day weekend in Las Vegas.
Now health officials are worried the weekend gatherings and travel could cause a spike in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
3.5 million people went through airport security checkpoints in the US between Friday and Saturday which was around the same number as 2019 before the pandemic began.
Officials pointed to large gatherings for college football games, like BYU vs. Arizona at Allegiant Stadium, as possible breeding grounds for the virus to continue spreading.
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The latest numbers from the Southern Nevada Health District showed 748 new cases and 10 new deaths in Clark County, and the US infection rate has grown to 13 times higher than July with more than 1,100 deaths a day.
SNHD said the vaccine continues to be the best protection available against the coronavirus with less than one-hundredth of one percent of vaccinated people testing positive in Southern Nevada.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Sunday that vaccine boosters would roll out by the end of the month with Pfizer recipients likely getting access first on Sept. 20 and Moderna recipients getting their boosters soon after.
Fauci warned against people mixing Pfizer or Moderna doses in an attempt to get their booster sooner.
