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(CNN) --
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the nation needs to move away from restrictive measures, such as quarantines and physical distancing, and focus in reducing serious illnesses from covid-19.
In new guidelines released Thursday, the agency no longer recommends staying at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from other people to reduce the risk of exposure, a change from guidelines that had been in place since the early days. of the pandemic.
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The change is a sign of how much things have changed since the start of the pandemic more than two years ago.
Almost the entire US population has at least some immunity thanks to vaccination, a previous infection, or, in some cases, both.
"The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from the last two years," Greta Massetti, branch chief of the CDC's Field Epidemiology and Prevention Branch, said at a news conference Thursday.
"The high levels of population immunity due to vaccination and prior infection and the many tools available to prevent the general population and protect those most at risk allow us to focus on protecting people from serious illness from COVID-19." -19".
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The new CDC guidelines say contact tracing, another hallmark during the pandemic, should be limited to hospitals and certain high-risk community living situations, such as nursing homes, and the guidelines play down the importance of using regular tests to detect covid-19, except in certain high-risk settings such as nursing homes and prisons.
The new guidance also does not recommend quarantining people who have been exposed to covid-19 but are not infected.
However, it maintains some measures.
For example, it encourages testing for people with symptoms and their close contacts.
It also says that people who test positive should stay home for at least five days and wear a mask around other people for 10 days.
It also continues to recommend that people wear masks indoors in about half the country.
The new guidelines also adapt advice on isolation for people who have become seriously ill from covid-19.
People with moderate symptoms, such as shortness of breath and those who were hospitalized, should stay home for at least 10 days.
People with compromised immune systems should now talk to their doctor about ending their isolation after an infection.
There's also new advice on what to do if your COVID-19 symptoms come back.
If your isolation ends and your COVID-19 symptoms worsen, you should start your isolation again and see your doctor.
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The changes are an acknowledgment that SARS-CoV-2 may be with us for the long haul.
Their goal is to help people live their lives around covid-19 with minimal disruption to work and school.
They are also more risk-based, advising people who are at higher risk of severe illness to take more personal precautions than others.
"I think they generally align with what people are doing anyway," says Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Chin-Hong believes that some states, such as California, will continue to go beyond the CDC's guidance in their own recommendations, but overall he thinks they reflect prevailing attitudes toward the pandemic.
He sees it as a move by the CDC to try to win back the public's trust.
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A recent poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that the majority of Americans (54%) no longer wear face coverings indoors, with about 4 in 10 saying they have fully returned to their pre-pandemic routines, up from 16%. in January.
"In my opinion, what the CDC is trying to do is stay relevant, and maybe when they do say something, people will listen to them instead of being completely 180 degrees away from what the behavior is anyway," Chin- Hong said.
Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, agrees that the new guidance shows that the CDC is trying to find people where they are.
"I think this is a point where you really have to be realistic and start giving people tools that they can use to do something or not. Because otherwise people just won't take you seriously," Hanage said.
Other experts, however, feel that the new CDC guidelines don't go far enough to correct the scientific errors in previous guidance.
"This review does not come close enough to correct the problems of flawed recommendations and lack of evidence," Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, told CNN in an email.
Topol has criticized the CDC for many months, saying that they were not strict enough with their isolation policies for people with covid-19.
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