CDC officially repeals 5-day coronavirus isolation guidelines

The change is effective immediately, CDC officials said, as reported by The Washington Post last month.the agent said is streamlining its guidance for respiratory viral illnesses, with new recommendations aligning how COVID-19 is managed with other common viruses such as influenza and respiratory virus.

“Our goal here is to protect those at risk of serious illness while also making sure people know that these recommendations are simple, clear, easy to understand and can be followed. “This is reassuring,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a media briefing Friday. This change, she added, “reflects the… This is the progress we have made in protecting ourselves from serious illness caused by the coronavirus. ”

The basic advice remains the same. “When you're sick, stay home and stay away from others.” The new approach allows people who test positive for the coronavirus to stay fever-free for at least 24 hours without the help of medication and show overall symptoms. If the condition improves, there is no need to isolate at home.

Once people resume normal activities, the updated guidance encourages them to take additional precautions for the next five days to reduce the spread of the disease. CDC officials say this includes improving ventilation by opening windows to let in fresh outside air or purifying indoor air, washing your hands frequently and cleaning frequently touched surfaces, and wearing a snug This includes wearing a mask and keeping your distance from others.

Not all respiratory infections cause fever, so paying attention to other symptoms, such as cough and muscle aches, is important in determining when you've recovered enough, according to the CDC. says.

Giving people symptom-based guidance is a better way to prioritize those most at risk and balance potentially devastating impacts on schools and workplaces, health officials say. and experts say. The federal recommendation follows similar moves by Oregon and California. California shortened its five-day quarantine advisory in January. Oregon took similar action last May.

Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Canada, have implemented similar guidance without seeing a significant change in the spread or severity of infection, according to a CDC blog post on respiratory guidance.

Many experts say this change is long overdue and public health guidance needs to shift to a more hands-on approach. The reality of COVID-19 is very different from the early days of the pandemic, when people had no protection against new pathogens. By the end of last year, 98 percent of Americans had disease-fighting antibodies from vaccination, previous infection, or both, which provides the strongest immunity.

According to the CDC, about 20,000 people are still hospitalized each week with COVID-19, and about 2,000 people die each week from COVID-19.

The updated recommendations are aimed at the general public and community settings. There is no change to the respiratory virus guidance for healthcare settings such as hospitals where more vulnerable populations are present. Guidance on respiratory viruses covers the most common respiratory viral diseases, but does not replace specific guidance for pathogens such as measles. Measles is highly contagious and requires stricter isolation and quarantine measures.

Support groups for people with disabilities and others at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the new coronavirus denounced the CDC's change in policy. Abandoning attempts to control infection puts them at risk.

“Changing COVID-19 isolation times does not change the way the virus behaves,” Maria Town, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said in a statement last week condemning the CDC's plan. “Mild COVID-19 is still COVID-19. Even people with COVID-19 who don’t have a fever can still be infected with COVID-19. It means it still poses a risk to some people.”

CDC officials say protecting vulnerable populations is a top priority when revising guidance, encouraging more people to stay home while infected with the virus and not rely on coronavirus testing. If so, he said he believes a new approach could help.

Work to revise the quarantine guidelines has been underway since August last year, but was suspended in the fall as the number of coronavirus cases increased. Officials acknowledge that few people are following quarantine guidance, which has not been updated since December 2021, and recognize the need to provide the public with more practical guidelines regarding COVID-19. Stated. Additionally, different guidance for each virus makes it difficult to know what is being quarantined. Officials said it should be done if the cause of the symptoms is unknown.

Although not all respiratory viruses act the same, a common approach to limiting the spread of disease will make recommendations easier to follow, more likely to be adopted, and more likely to be tested for the disease. It eliminates the need to rely on people, CDC officials said. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said estimates suggest only about 50% of people have been tested for COVID-19.

David Margolius, Cleveland's top public health official, praised the latest guidance, adding: In his region, the number of hospitalizations due to respiratory syncytial virus and influenza exceeds the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

“It makes a lot of sense to simplify public health messaging to treat all of these dangerous contagious respiratory viruses the same,” Margolius said. “What we really want to say is, 'If you're sick, please stay home until you feel better.'

He said he will continue to urge employers not to force sick employees to come to work. She said the revised guidance emphasizing not having a fever could be helpful because some employers are sending sick employees to work if they have a negative coronavirus test. Ta. As a result, people infected with other contagious viruses or who receive false negatives will still end up infecting others at work, Margolius said.

Many companies have already stopped offering workers infected with the coronavirus five paid days to quarantine, saying it would be too burdensome to keep workers with mild or asymptomatic symptoms off work for long periods of time. He congratulated state officials who distanced themselves from CDC guidance.

Cohen acknowledged that organizations need to consider policies that allow employees to stay home when sick, such as telecommuting and paid sick leave. Cohen said federal health officials expect flu and COVID-19 vaccines to be updated this fall. As part of her general approach to respiratory viruses, she said, “I want employers to hold flu and COVID-19 clinics.”

As of February 10, approximately 1.2 million people have died due to the new coronavirus infection. The virus was the third leading cause of death in 2021, accounting for 12% of all deaths. By 2022, it will become the fourth leading cause of death after heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries. According to the CDC, preliminary data for 2023 puts COVID-19 as the 10th leading cause of death.

CDC officials also said more people should get the latest version of the vaccine, which became available last fall. Uptake of up-to-date vaccines among adults is low, with only about 22 percent of people over the age of 18 vaccinated. And only about 42% of people over 65 have been vaccinated. More than 95% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 last season did not receive the latest coronavirus vaccine, Cohen said.

Most of the deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 last year were in people 65 and older. The CDC this week recommended additional doses of the vaccine for older adults, saying it can provide additional protection against immunity that can wane over time.