CDC may drop COVID guidelines to mimic California: ‘I think it’s reasonable to move on’
Reports began swirling this week that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could soon loosen its COVID-19 guidelines.
What does it mean and how could it affect your everyday life?
Here’s what we know so far.
What is the planned CDC guidance?
Following reports first made by the Washington Post on Tuesday that the CDC would update its COVID-19 isolation guidelines — where people who test positive are urged to stay home for at least five days — the agency has remained tight-lipped if such changes are in the works.
Under the planned guidelines, people would no longer be advised to isolate at home if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication, and their symptoms are not severe and are improving.
While the coronavirus continues to cause serious illness across the U.S., especially among the unvaccinated and individuals with underlying health conditions, the vast majority of people have some protection.
Research conducted on COVID antibodies by the CDC between April 2021 and September 2022 indicated an overwhelming majority of American adults had immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
“I think it’s reasonable to move on, but it comes with a responsibility,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, doctor and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who specializes in infectious diseases.
In a Wednesday morning phone interview, Chin-Hong said navigating the new protocols would mean an ongoing and collective effort to test and wear masks when sick, stay up to date on vaccinations and prioritize safety for the most vulnerable.
Chin-Hong said how to approach this new phase of COVID-19, four years after the pandemic, is “really complex.”
Since 2021, the federal public health agency has advised people to stay home for at least five days and wear a high-quality mask around others. According to its website, that’s still the recommendation.
“Rather than thinking about demoting COVID, what I’m hoping will happen — politics notwithstanding — is that we elevate our thoughts about other respiratory illnesses as well,” Chin-Hong said.
The CDC’s planned coronavirus isolation guidance aligns with how to avoid respiratory illnesses like the flu or RSV, respiratory syncytial virus.
CDC officials say that people who contract the flu should stay home until 24 hours after their fever of 100 degrees or higher is gone without the use of fever-reducing medications.
Individuals who do not have a fever should isolate at home between four and five days after the start of their symptoms.
With the flu, household members who aren’t ill are not required to stay home but should continue to monitor their symptoms.
The guidelines surrounding RSV are vague and include staying home when sick, washing your hands, and covering your cough and sneezes with a tissue or covering your cough and sneezes properly.
How does the guidance differ from California’s guidance?
Similar to the CDC’s planned guidance, California public health officials say the length of someone’s isolation period should be determined based on the severity of their symptoms.
Under the state Department of Public Health recommendation, updated in January, Californians who test positive for the coronavirus no longer need to isolate for five days.
CDPH recommends people who test positive for COVID-19 stay home until they:
Don’t have a fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications
And have symptoms are “mild and improving”
How prevalent is COVID in California right now?
The number of reported COVID-19 cases across California has decreased since a spike in the weeks following the holidays.
JN. 1, the latest COVID-19 variant being tracked by health experts, started rapidly circulating in December. COVID-19 test positivity was at 8.1% as of Feb. 9, CDPH reported, compared to 11.8% on Jan. 12.
On Wednesday Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious disease at UC Davis Health, said COVID-19 appears to spike seasonally like the flu and RSV.
“In the future, it’s not going to be that much different from illness like influenza,” he said.
In the past week, 2,302 patients were admitted to the hospital in California due to the coronavirus, and 2% of deaths were COVID-19-related, said health officials said in its weekly respiratory virus report.
More than 2,308 COVID-19-related deaths have been recorded across California, between Oct. 1 and Feb. 3.
Data from the CDC through Feb. 3 revealed that all California counties are at low levels for COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
Where can I get free at-home COVID tests?
U.S. residential households are eligible for another round of free at-home COVID-19 self-tests through the U.S. Postal Service.
Each order includes four individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests.
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