Entering the Christmas holiday, the good news once again is that over the past seven days both new Corona virus infections and deaths from COVID-19 are down significantly. The problem is that despite these decreases, both absolute numbers are still high and could rise significantly due to holiday related travel.
This is similar to Thanksgiving, when the numbers were high but the increases had stopped. What happens from here depends on the holiday. Even if people travel, masking around non-household members and social distancing would be crucial. It will be a few months before any effect will be seen from the vaccine campaign, so every bit helps, especially in places (California and Tennessee) where hospitals are already overwhelmed.
Pandemic Pondering 