AUSTIN, Texas — Americans are expected to travel in record numbers this holiday season, and some hope to have an added layer of safety with booster shots against COVID — now that Pfizer and Moderna have been approved to distribute its vaccines for all eligible adults.

Jonathan Marmon, an Austin resident, says his family will be celebrating the holidays together after being kept apart for some time.

“It's going to be the first time we've been able to get together in a while so it'll be nice to see everybody,” he said.

Marmon isn't alone. COVID-19 wrecked holiday plans at this time last year for many families who were splintered by calls to self isolate to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus. This year it's different as Marmon and some of his relatives have been vaccinated.

“It provides me a lot of peace of mind going out and having dinner and being able to kind of return back to society and semblance of normalcy that we haven't had in a long time,” he said.

Marmon says he received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine in April and is eager to receive the booster shot. The Pfizer booster dose will likely allow people to produce antibodies in time for the holidays in a month. 

“I know there's a quest in the Randalls down the street from my house that I'll probably be going to, to see if I can get that shot there. Wherever it's provided is where I'll go for sure.”

For him, it’s not a matter of whether or not he’ll get the booster shot, it’s just a matter of when.