Santa Claus waves from his sleigh float at the 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Paradeon November 26, 2020, in New York City.
Millions of Americans defied COVID-19 guidelines on Thursday to spend a subdued Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, while questions emerged over the level of protection that one potential vaccine offers.
About a million people were screened at US airports each day over the last week, as many appeared bent on enjoying one of the country's biggest annual celebrations.
The exodus came despite warnings that mass travel threatens to significantly worsen the pandemic in the country hit hardest, with a six-month high of more than 2,400 deaths registered in the US in just the past 24 hours.
President-elect Joe Biden offered a message of hope, however, in a Thanksgiving video address that rallied Americans to pull together to defeat the outbreak.
"I know better days are coming, I know how bright our future is. I know the 21st century is going to be an American century," he said.
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, one of three firms that have reported their vaccine to be ready, said on Thursday that further research was needed after questions emerged over the protection it offers.
Vaccine breakthroughs have raised hopes for an end to the outbreak, though much of the world faces a gloomy winter dampened by lockdowns, economic anxiety and devastating loss.
Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said he was expecting "a surge superimposed upon a surge" caused by the big holiday getaway.
President Donald Trump, for his part, spent the day golfing at a course he owns in Virginia, taking time out to attack Biden's record-setting winning vote count in the election earlier this month.
"Just saw the vote tabulations. There is NO WAY Biden got more than 80,000,000 votes!!! This was a 100 percent RIGGED ELECTION," he fumed on Twitter.
Thanksgiving 'gift'
Globally, more than 60 million infections and 1.4 million deaths have been recorded, according to a tally compiled by AFP from official sources.
Despite the burst of travel in America — still far below last year's Thanksgiving numbers — pandemic restrictions meant that there was a resolute, stoical undercurrent to this year's festivities.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, a cherished tradition nearly a century old featuring giant balloons and colorful floats, went ahead in a truncated made-for-TV celebration across just one city block, with no crowds and much of it pre-recorded.
Biden described how he normally travels to the New England coast for a big family feast but would be staying home in Delaware this year for a small get-together.
"I know this isn't the way many of us hoped we'd spend our holiday. We know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow Americans," he said in his video message, posted to social media.