Five-Day Quarantine: Is it Enough?
January 31, 2022
As of December 27th, 2021, the CDC has issued new guidance pertaining to the recommendation of the number of days a person should stay quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19. This new change in recommendations comes with more controversy and speculation from the general public. While this sudden change may be unsettling, the reasons for the new quarantine suggestions are logical.
The CDC’s current recommendation for a vaccinated individual is to isolate for 5 days, followed by wearing a mask around others for an additional 5 days if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms begin to go away. The CDC says their reasoning for wearing a mask around others for another 5 days is to limit the probability of infecting others. Wearing a mask is something that many are already familiar with and somewhat used to after living with a pandemic for nearly two years.
As far as why there is this new change in guidance, the CDC stated that,”The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.” The CDC’s reasoning as to why they are making the change in quarantine requirements is logical because they are basing their suggestions off of their research and scientific data they have collected to provide a reasonable explanation.
Additionally, the CDC conducted 113 studies from 17 different countries that revealed that the transmission of the virus more often happens earlier on in the course of the illness. This reinforces why the CDC chose to lower quarantine recommendations stemming from the data they collected.
Apart from the scientific variables, many Americans have full-time jobs, and having to quarantine for 10 days may not be an option. This is a considerable factor in deciding to lower the number of quarantine days because the new spikes in cases require many more people to be quarantined, which could lead to businesses being shut down if they are understaffed.
Although the change in quarantine recommendations may seem to be logical, the CDC could take other measures to try and inform the public about other methods to help stop the spread of the virus. One step the CDC could take is to push for people who become infected to make sure they have a negative test before coming out from quarantine. This would help ensure that a once-infected person is no longer contagious and able to spread the virus to others.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC has been a heavily reliant source for information on how to best handle the virus and what the next steps may be. The constant influx of new information and the ever-changing state of the virus has caused the CDC to change many recommendations in their guidance to the public. Mistakes are expected to be made in the uncharted territory the country has been facing as a whole for the past two years.
Research Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html
