Vaccinated Americans are celebrating the 1st big holiday safely without masks. But for some, returning to normal is not so easy

For the first time in over a year, millions of Americans are gathering for a major holiday without masks or physical distancing – safely.

But the majority of Americans still aren’t fully vaccinated, leading to the possibility of yet another post-holiday spike of coronavirus infections.

“To people who are traveling and people who have been fully vaccinated, have a great time,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University.

“But for folks who have not been vaccinated, you can still get this virus and you can still die. We still have about 500 deaths per day.”

Irena Schulz looks through her medical bills

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While most deaths have been among the elderly and those with preexisting conditions, Covid-19 has killed more children than the flu has this past year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other young, unvaccinated people are suffering from long Covid or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) – a rare but potentially serious condition that can happen in children weeks after a coronavirus infection.

So while fully vaccinated Americans relish holiday barbeques and close gatherings without masks, others are stymied – or having a hard time adjusting to normalcy.

Returning to normal isn’t so easy for some

As Americans remember those in the military who died while serving their country, this Memorial Day can be especially challenging for those finding it difficult to start returning to normal life.

Members of the military unfurl an American flag during a wreath laying ceremony at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York on Monday, May 26.

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“Covid has really changed our lives,” clinical psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere said.

“Whether it’s someone they know that has Covid or someone that they know that died, or friends who talked about it or just seeing it in the media, all of those things caused everyone some sort of trauma,” he said.

“We had gotten ourselves into a very safe bubble.” But now, he said, some people “are having anxiety.”

But vacationers like KerryAnn McGregor said the renewed freedom is welcome.

“It’s a whole year of staying indoors, and now you come outside everybody is out riding their bikes, jogging, exercising, partying,” said McGregor, who was visiting Miami Beach this weekend. “It’s OK now.”

Another air travel record is expected to break

At US aiports, Monday was poised to be the busiest day of the entire pandemic – capping a record weekend of holiday travel as more than 40% of Americans have been fully vaccinated.

The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 7 million people from Thursday to Sunday. On Friday, the TSA screened 1.96 million people.

And travel industry experts say this will likely be busy summer. On Monday, United Airlines said bookings for this June through August are more than double the numbers from last year.

Michael Cosgrove, deputy chief of the Rose Tree Fire Company, unfurls an American flag before the start of Memorial Day services in Rose Tree, Pennsylvania, on Monday, May 31.

Bugler David Bonczkiewicz plays with the honor guard Monday at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona.

President Joe Biden delivers an address at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday. "We owe the honored dead a debt we can never fully repay," he said in his speech. "We owe them our whole souls. We owe them our full best efforts to perfect the union for which they died."

Army Capt. Darren M. Cinatl touches the headstone of his friend Andrew Joseph Baddick at Arlington National Cemetery.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's annual Memorial Day ceremony in New York.

American flags are placed next to the headstones in Arlington National Cemetery.

Veteran Tim Chambers salutes motorcyclists participating in the "Rolling to Remember" event in Washington, DC, on Sunday, May 30.

People visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, on Sunday.

A boy makes his way through the aerial ropes course at Harpers Ferry Adventure Center in Hillsboro, Virginia, on Sunday.

Fans watch the Indianapolis 500 auto race on Sunday. This year's event was billed as the most-attended sporting event since the pandemic's start, with the 135,000 available tickets quickly selling out.

People dance on a boat in Chicago on Sunday.

People visit the Coney Island boardwalk as rain falls in New York on Sunday.

Hot-air balloons dominated the field Sunday in front of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.

People walk along the Santa Monica Pier in California on Saturday, May 29.

Elias Loosen plants a flag Saturday as part of the War Memorial Center's Field of Flags community event in Milwaukee.

Tubers make their way to the lower Salt River in Arizona on Saturday.

Air Force veteran Larry Bustetter, left, and Army veteran Henry Knebel salute after placing flags at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Saturday.

Motorcyclists wait for traffic along North Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

People ride a roller coaster at the pier in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday.

A large crowd gathers to watch a street performance in New York's Times Square on Saturday.

People ride escalators at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday, May 28.

Volunteers place flags at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel, Iowa, on Friday.

People enjoy the boardwalk Friday in Wildwood, New Jersey.

Jacqueline Blair hangs ribbons on flags Friday at the Field of Honor in Idaho Falls, Idaho. A thousand flags will be on display at the Russ Freeman Park through Memorial Day.

Travelers pass through the concourse Friday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia.

Beachgoers watch as US Marine helicopters practice maneuvers Friday for an air and sea show in Miami Beach, Florida.

A US soldier places a flag as part of the Flags In ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 27. More than 1,000 service members placed flags in front of more than 260,000 headstones.

People ride along the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey, on Thursday.

Vehicles head east out of Los Angeles on Interstate 10 in Alhambra, California, on Thursday. More than 37 million people were expected to travel 50 miles or more from home between Thursday and Monday, according to AAA.

How Americans are spending their Memorial Day weekend

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For unvaccinated, variants ‘can wreak a lot of havoc’

Generally healthy people who have been fully vaccinaated “should feel very well protected,” CNN medical analyst and emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen said.

People relax on the sand during the Memorial Day Hyundai Air and Sea Show in Miami Beach, Florida on May 29, 2021. - The Hyundai Air & Sea Show showcases the women, men, technology, and equipment from all five branches of the United States military.

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But for those who have not been inoculated, the risk of getting infected at large gatherings remains high. “We do have more transmissible variants, and unfortunately those individuals who don’t have immunity are not protected from these variants that can wreak a lot of havoc,” Wen said.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said “too many people are coming” to his scenic, coastal city.

“The virus is still here,” he said. “The volume of people that have been coming here is very unprecedented.”

Pandemic is definitely not over, WHO director says

Don’t be fooled by the holiday barbecues, parties and reopened movie theaters.

There’s still a lot of work to be done to end the Covid-19 pandemic, and any country that thinks the danger has passed is wrong, said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

TOPSHOT - Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the Covid-19 coronavirus, wearing protective gear are seen during their visit to the Hubei Center for animal disease control and prevention in Wuhan, China's central Hubei province on February 2, 2021. (Photo by Hector RETAMAL / AFP) (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

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“We’re very encouraged that cases and deaths are continuing to decline globally, but it would be a monumental error for any country to think the danger has passed,” he said.

“One day – hopefully soon – the pandemic will be behind us. But the psychological scars will remain for those who have lost loved ones, health workers who have been stretched beyond breaking point. and the millions of people of all ages confronted with months of loneliness and isolation.”

But for those fully vaccinated, the loneliness and isolation are fading away. And at some popular Memorial Day destinations, those who still need a free shot could easily get one.

New Jersey launched a new program called “Shots at the Shore,” at which adults have an option of getting a Moderna, Johnson & Johnson or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at beaches or boardwalks.

People visit the beach ahead of Memorial Day weekend on May 28 in San Diego, California.

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Vaccinations sites were set up in Pier Village, Sandy Hook, Long Branch, and Asbury Park until mid-afternoon on Memorial Day, Gov. Phil Murphy said. Children ages 12 and up could get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

New York City, another popular destination, is sending vaccination buses to beaches and parks.

The mobile vaccination sites will be stationed at Brighton Beach, the Rockaways, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Central Park and Governors Island, among other locations, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

“You’re going to see our vaccine buses out all over New York City the next few days,” he said.

“Go, get vaccinated, hit the beach. Real simple.”

CNN’s Naomi Thomas, Sahar Akbarzai, Pete Muntean, Greg Wallace and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.