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For: The Opinion
Wednesday, November 6
US could reduce 10-day quarantine to Omicron-infected for vaccinated, says Fauci
Federal health officials are considering softening the current COVID isolation pattern – 19 from 04 CDC days , arguing that the restriction of confinement may be more damaging than the raging Omicron variant.
The proposed change, which medical experts say should be adopted urgently, would affect fully vaccinated people who test positive for COVID- But they no longer have symptoms, said Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The recommendation comes as lawmakers promise not to repeat the kind of lockdowns they installed at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Keep on the isolation window of 10 days for vaccinated, threatens to wreak greater havoc on the economy and people’s lives . critics say.
This “unique period of 10 days “is unnecessary for many people and” extremely disturbing, “Amesh Adalja, principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told the newspaper. New York Post.
“A realistic period of isolation is one that lasts as long as the contagion lasts. It can be as short as a few days for some people and longer for others, ”he said.
The current guide from the Centers for Control and the federal Disease Prevention (CDC) requires individuals who tested positive to isolate themselves for 10 days, after symptoms develop.
But opponents argue that given the wide variance of Ómicron, such a time frame could eventually cripple hospitals and the economy if an influx of employees unable to work remotely, they are forced to quarantine the 10 full days.
Public health experts backing a shorter isolation window say that the longest restriction does not make sense for fully vaccinated people, because the data suggest that those inoculated appear to be eli mine the virus, so they stop being contagious, faster than those who have not received their vaccines.
Ómicron, now by far the most prevalent variant in the country, doesn’t seem like be so dangerous to most people’s health overall.
Meanwhile, more and more people are getting vaccinated and using rapid tests to determine if they have contracted COVID – 19, all of which can easily reduce that quarantine window, experts say.
Adalja said daily rapid tests until a person tests negative could be the answer to “ guide with precision the period of isolation of the people ”. The Omicron variant is now responsible for approximately three-quarters of all new COVID cases – 12 in the US, based on the latest CDC data.
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