The United States health authorities explained on Wednesday their decision to shorten the recommended isolation time from 10 to five days for a person with a positive case of COVID-19 but who has no symptoms, after the measure generated criticism for part of some experts and fear that confusion will increase in the population.
The new guidance released Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised questions about how it was designed and why it was changed amid a largely driven spike in infections. by the omicron variant, which is highly contagious.
Nursing staff groups have pointed out that this does not prioritize the well-being of those who have been working in hospitals for two years in the fight against the pandemic.
Some specialists point out that some of the recommendations may be unwise.
[Experts recommend using better omicron masks]
Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said Wednesday that the new guidelines
are based on available scientific data
on the accuracy of COVID-19 tests and how long a person can spread the virus.
The specialist said that
"we must adapt"
, since the virus also "has demonstrated its capacity to adapt quickly", during a briefing in the White House.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, also indicated that the omicron variant, which is credited with the year-end upturn in cases,
generates milder cases
than the previous delta variant and a lower risk of hospitalization.
In a conference at the White House, Fauci cited a University of Edinburgh working paper suggesting that omicron is associated with a two-thirds reduction in the risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 compared to delta.
New cases of COVID-19 have cast a shadow over Christmas and the New Year.
But Fauci assured that
it is not necessary to cancel the small meetings
at home between
vaccinated
family and friends
who have received the
booster dose.
Fauci has asked to avoid large crowds instead.
"If your plans are to go to a New Years party of 40 or 50 people with all the bells and whistles and everyone hugging, kissing and wishing each other a happy new year,
I would strongly recommend that this year we don't," he
warned.
The recommendation of the five days of isolation
The CDC on Monday reduced the time an infected person must isolate himself from others.
“If you are infected with SARS-CoV-2, regardless of your vaccination status, you
must isolate yourself for five days.
During periods of isolation, it is best to wear a mask near people in your home to prevent the spread of the virus at home, "explained the official.
"After five days, if you are asymptomatic or if your symptoms have largely resolved, you can leave isolation as long as you continue to wear a mask when you are with more people, including at home, for another five days," he added.
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Walensky explained that the greatest period of contagion occurs one to two days before symptoms develop and three days after the first signs of the disease.
"And if you map it,
those five days represent between 85% and 90% of all the transmission that occurs
," he told CNN.
Some experts disagree with these changes.
"I don't think there is any big change in the science that would justify a change in orientation," Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Act told NBC News, sister network of Telemundo News.
The guide "has a lot more to do with social function than science," Gostin added.
In an interview with
CNN's
New Day
, Walensky also touched on the social factor in the decision.
He indicated that the new guidelines "
really had a lot to do with what we think people might tolerate
."
"We have seen relatively low isolation rates for this entire pandemic," he said.
"Some studies have shown that less than a third of people isolate themselves when they need to," he added.
[This LA Times reporter fights with her family to get vaccinated. He still has not made it and three have already died]
In an interview with NBC News, the official also said that they wanted to motivate sick people.
"This was really a way of telling people:
make sure you isolate yourself in those first five days
, when you are most infected," he noted.
Why is a test not always required?
One of the most questioned points is that patients are allowed to end isolation if they do not have symptoms without the need for a test.
"
It is frankly unwise to proceed in this way
," Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told The Associated Press.
"It is vital to use a rapid test or some type of test to validate that the person is not infectious," he added.
A healthcare worker directs drivers to other lanes at a COVID-19 testing center in Tropical Park, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021, in Miami.Rebecca Blackwell / AP
The CDC director remarked in this regard that the decision is based on available research and that
COVID-19 tests are not always good indicators
of whether someone is still contagious.
"What we do know is that the PCR test after infection can be positive for up to 12 weeks, so it will not be useful. It will not transmit the virus for that entire period of time," Walensky told NBC News.
[FDA advises that rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive for detecting the omicron variant]
The CDC's decision was made amid a nationwide testing shortage from the surge in cases and the huge movement of year-end celebrations.
Nurses' concern, company applause
Although health workers should be tested for coronavirus before returning to hospitals, the new recommendations also shorten their quarantine.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) said Wednesday that it is "
deeply concerned
" about the possible impact of the change.
"This guide is premature given what is known about the omicron variant and
advises in favor of economic needs
rather than taking into account the health needs of nurses and other workers," said the association of medical personnel in a release.
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CDC has been under pressure from the public and private sectors to explore ways to shorten isolation time and reduce the risk of severe staff shortages amid rising cases.
Thousands of airline flights have been canceled in recent days due to lack of staff due to a rebound attributed to omicron.
The airline industry applauded the change.
"
The decision is the correct one based on science,
" said the Airlines for America group.
Businesses also benefit from the measure.
Qamara Edwards, director of business and events for Sojourn Philly, which owns four restaurants in Philadelphia, told The Associated Press that about 15% of its employees are ill with COVID-19 and staffing is low.
The CDC changes are "great for companies, they allow people to return to work earlier than expected," Edwards said, although he understands why workers may be reluctant and concerned about their health.
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Marshall Hatch, senior pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Church on Chicago's West Side, told the agency that he is bracing for some confusion in his congregation.
The church has been a strong advocate for tests, vaccines, and booster shots.
Hatch said the latest CDC guidance is confusing and "a bit incongruous."
The number of hospitalizations is around 60,000, roughly half the number recorded in January, the CDC reported.
And according to an agency forecast released Wednesday,
more than 44,000 people could die from COVID-19 in the next four weeks.
In the United States, there are usually between 12,000 and 52,000 deaths from the flu in a year.
The outlook is also bleak in other parts of the world, especially in Europe.
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is concerned that the omicron variant will combine with the delta variant and produce a
"tsunami" of cases
.
That, he said, will put "immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse," he said.
