This past week the Center for Disease Control (CDC) said goodbye to its mantra of a 5 day quarantine period. This change comes as a result of improvements in the trends of hospitalization and deaths in the past year. CDC Directory Mandy Cohen explained, “We wanted to see if the trends would hold through another respiratory season. We wanted to see continued decreases in hospitalizations, decreases in deaths, even with [mutations]” (CBS).
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| COVID hospitalizations have decreased significantly since their pandemic peak (https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-24/covid-icu) |
The coronavirus dropped to being the 10th leading cause of death in the United States last year, down from the 3rd at its peak (AP). The agency made it clear that while it is no longer an emergency, COVID still remains a public health threat, and that it should not be ignored (CBS). In the report released on Friday, the agency explained they would switch to a “unified, practical approach to addressing risk,” an attempt to make guidelines easier to follow by creating a single set of guidelines for numerous respiratory illnesses, including COVID, the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (CBS).
So what exactly are the new guidelines? The CDC is now recommending to only return once symptoms are mild and improving and it has been over a day since having a fever. However, they do recommend using a mask during 5 additional days of precaution once you are no longer staying at home. It is important to note that there were no changes in the guidelines for individuals working in healthcare or in nursing homes (CDC).
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An example from CDC guidelines demonstrating how the updated COVID recommendations would be implemented (https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html) |
Despite the CDC moving forward, not everybody is ready to yet. Director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University’s School of Public Health Jennifer Nuzzo said that her “biggest worry in all of this is that employers will take this change in guidance to require employees to come back to work ... before they are ready to, before they feel well enough, and before they are not likely to pose harm to their co-workers” (AP). Each week, there are still over 20,000 hospitalizations and 2000 deaths due to the virus, particularly in individuals of age 65 years or older.
It seems like COVID has reached a point now where it is starting to be treated similarly to other viruses like the flu and RSV. In 10 to 20 years from now, it may be treated like a common cold, an incredibly large change from its connotation just a couple of years ago, at the height of the pandemic. The coronavirus has undoubtedly had a massive impact on the way that we view our health, with many individuals still continuing to wear masks for a multitude of reasons. While its widespread reign of terror may be over, its impact on the globe economically, socially, and scientifically, will be felt for centuries.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html
https://apnews.com/article/covid19-isolation-guidelines-cdc-5354fe4ef002458c4c0174292e982af9\
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-covid-recommendations-isolation-masks-tests/
5 comments:
While COVID-19 is not as dangerous as before as a result of vaccinations, it is still a highly contagious disease. People should at least wait 5 days (as was the policy before) after testing positive before returning to work or school. Not everyone can get vaccinations, most notably those with health conditions that prevent them from doing so and babies, and those at high risk even with vaccinations, the old and immunocompromised, would face the brunt of a new surge in COVID cases. For the sake of public health, the CDC should wait a couple years longer before changing the COVID regulations. Furthermore, as mentioned at the end of the article, employers will likely see these changes in regulations as a way to force employees to return to work while sick with COVID, not only making it take longer for their bodies to fight off and recover from the disease but spread it to their coworkers and customers as well. I think that while the CDC is implementing these policy changes to account for the two years since quarantine and the numerous vaccines released; there is a high chance that another surge will occur as a result.
This policy change has been a long time coming and marks a nice little milestone in the world's fight against COVID-19. Not to beat a dead horse, but it's pretty wild to think about the fact that it has been 4 years since we first heard about COVID-19. Like Zach said, COVID is now more like the flu/RSV than it is an unstoppable disease of death. While Professor Nuzzo's statement is probably not completely unfounded, I assume that as a public health organization the CDC has changed the guidelines with an abundance of caution(after all their directive is public health and not something like the economy).
Although I agree that Covid is still very dangerous, I do believe this is very positive news. We have come a long way, learning a lot about the virus as well as having vaccines. I agree with others that we can now see it as similar to the flu, not as deadly as it once seemed. While it is very positive to move forward and continue to change the guidelines, we all know what we can do to stay healthy to the best of our ability!
One thing I will miss is the regard for other people's health that the coronavirus precautions brought. I noticed that, with mask wearing and quarantining, I caught less common colds and other respiratory illnesses. Since then, it seems like I've been getting a runny nose once a month! I hope people will realize the benefits of what may seem like over-cautiousness and I think the entire COVID experience could perhaps affect how younger generations react to contagious symptoms.
I agree with the sentiment that Covid can now be perceived akin to the flu, and less deathly than previously feared. And although this is a positive step forward, there are lingering concerns, particularly surrounding premature return-to-work directives from employers. It is crucial to strike a balance between easing restrictions and maintaining vigilance, especially given the ongoing rates of hospitalizations and fatalities, particularly among the elderly. Nevertheless, the enduring impact of the pandemic on global health, economy, and society underscores the adaptation and vigilance against infectious diseases.
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