This is true. To date, it seems the only way to combat it effectively is to take the decision making out of the public's hands by instituting a full scale lockdown with statement of intent to suppress it in the community. And doing that is too much like political suicide for many leaders, given the media and information landscape.I will also point out that maintaining this level of alertness and awareness is completely fucking exhausting and makes the family holiday social time miserable. You get about 1/2 an hour of people sitting in corners of the room, with masks on, trying not to touch the same utensils, glasses, or hors d'oeuvres... and then diligence breaks down. Someone lowers their mask to cough or have a drink. Someone shares a photo on their phone, and hands it to someone else.
Ultimately, the government's role and influence in this pandemic has been completely neutralized. (At least in the USA.) So there will be no way for the government to effectively control any of this. It will just come down to individual choice and decisions. It's all in the hands of us individuals, and whether Thanksgiving/Christmas is worth dying for.