OAN’s Elizabeth Bolbelding
5:05 PM – Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Nearly four years after the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic began, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided to end the five-day quarantine guideline this spring.
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According to the report, washington postThe U.S. CDC plans to change its COVID-19 isolation guidelines this spring, saying people don’t need to quarantine if they haven’t had a fever for 24 hours and their symptoms are “mild or improving.”
The planned shift was discussed internally in a meeting with state health officials last week, the newspaper said. washington postsaid four anonymous government officials.
Health authorities will advise people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to consider their symptoms when deciding when to end isolation.
The report, which cited “CDC officials familiar with the situation,” said people with mild symptoms who are improving and who have not had a fever for at least 24 hours no longer need to stay home.
The report also added that the new recommendations do not apply to hospitals and other health care settings that serve more “vulnerable populations.” However, the CDC said there are no changes to the agency’s quarantine rules to announce at this time.
“We will continue to base our decisions on the best evidence and science to keep our communities healthy and safe,” CDC spokesperson Dave Daigle said in a statement.
The CDC argued that the vast majority of people have developed immunity to the virus, either through vaccination or previous COVID-19 infection, which is “why the change has occurred.”
“Public health has to be realistic,” infectious disease expert Michael T. Osterholm said: washington post. “Today, when making recommendations to the public, we must try to take full advantage of what people want. Sometimes you can’t accomplish anything because you don’t listen to what others say.”
The report also said the government had not yet approved the guidelines the agency is expected to publish in April.
“There are no updates to our coronavirus guidelines to announce at this time. We will continue to make decisions based on the best evidence and science to keep our community healthy and safe,” the CDC said in an email. Ta.
Isolation guidelines for those who test positive for the coronavirus have not been updated since the CDC reduced the recommended isolation period for asymptomatic infected Americans from 10 days to 5 days in December 2021. .
Starting in 2021, the CDC recommends that people who test positive for COVID-19 quarantine for at least five days before continuing to wear a mask. The revised recommendations will align COVID-19 with recommendations for other respiratory viruses, such as the common influenza.
California and Oregon recently announced that, contrary to CDC recommendations, people who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to isolate for a specified period of time, and those who don’t show symptoms don’t need to isolate at all. declared.
Nearly 86% of coronavirus cases in the U.S. were infected as of January 19, according to CDC data.thproduced by subvariant JN.1 and recalled by the World Health Organization as a “variant of interest.”
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, used the latest coronavirus variant, JN.1, as an example.
“We’re seeing a lot of mild infections happening. A lot of people aren’t even getting tested,” Schaffner said.
People no longer strictly adhere to isolation guidelines if they test positive.
“Once they feel better, they return to their normal activities. They are not strictly quarantining for five days,” Schaffner added.
Additionally, other health experts agree that the new changes are a wise decision.
“Given increased population immunity to COVID-19, access to treatment for COVID-19, and decreased hospitalizations and deaths, it seems reasonable for CDC to adapt the national strategy.” said Dr. Clay Marsh of West Virginia. The new coronavirus infection emperor.
“Currently, the majority of the population is not being tested for COVID-19 or actively isolating,” Marsh said. “Given warnings about the risk of prolonged COVID-19 infection and the potential for death in older and immunocompromised people, future guidance from the CDC does not meet the standards we see. There is.”
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