Folks seeking COVID-19 boosters are jumping the gun on updated FDA booster guidance expected by week’s end. A steady stream of people of all ages registered and rolled up their sleeves at the Essex County vaccination site in West Orange. About a thousand people a day get COVID-19 boosters at three Essex County sites now — where the only real rule (unofficially) —  is don’t ask and don’t tell. Still, only 15% of the population that was vaccinated in New Jersey has gotten a booster. With COVID-19 cases trending upward by about 11% nationally and families traveling from all over the nation for Thanksgiving, health experts do expect to see a post-holiday spike.

And this year, politics might make for a fraught family meal. The latest Monmouth Poll shows it’s mostly Democrats who will ask guests around the table if they’ve been vaccinated.