Days after federal officials cut the recommended time for COVID-19 isolation in half for those without symptoms, local and national health experts are torn on whether it was the right call.
The updated guidance — issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a media statement Monday — allows those who tested positive for the viral disease and don’t have symptoms to go back to their regular activities after five days, regardless of vaccination status, as long as they wear a mask for another five.
Previously, the federal agency asked that people stay home for 10 days to avoid infecting others.
The rationale for the change is “motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness,” the statement reads, and to help people “safely continue their daily lives.”
Nationally, the updated guidance has garnered criticism, with those opposed to it saying it’s an example of the government giving into pressure from big businesses — like airlines — that want to get COVID-19 infected employees back to work as soon as possible, according to various news reports.
And while health experts acknowledge that a shortened isolation period could work at this stage of the pandemic, there could be some hiccups along the way.
“I think their intent is appropriate. In a sense, we have to learn to live with COVID-19; we have to learn to function and we have to learn to continue on as a society … ” said Dr. AalokKhole, an infectious disease expert at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene. “Do I think we are at a point where we can do this five-days-fits-all kind of approach? Not really.”
He explained that issuing two separate protocols for those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t — as fully inoculated people shed the virus for a shorter period of time than those who aren’t — may have been the safer choice for the CDC.
Additionally, Khole said he does not agree with the CDC declining to require a negative test before returning to work, school or other activities. There is also worry, he added, of people not complying with masking after the new five-day isolation period.
“We have already seen how hard it is to get people to wear masks, and we’re relying on the honor system, which we haven’t had the best results with,” Khole said.
Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said he mostly agrees with the CDC’s latest guidance, noting that they are “walking a tight rope.”
“You’re darned if you do, you’re darned if you don’t … They have my sympathies; it’s a difficult thing,” he said in an interview.
If federal officials had recommended people get a negative test after five days, for example, Schaffner said the CDC would’ve drawn criticism because of the lack of rapid tests available nationwide (and that not everyone can afford one).
Similarly, he said if they split the recommendation between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, the agency would’ve been criticized again for making the policy too confusing.
“Because as soon as you say the right-handed people do this and the left-handed people do that, all of a sudden you have 387 questions,” Schaffner said. “So I think what the CDC was trying to do was follow the KISS rule — keep it simple, stupid.”
Dr. Michael Lindberg, retired chief medical officer at Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, said he trusts the CDC’s recommendation.
“I truly believe the CDC wouldn’t issue a statement like this if they didn’t have good science to back it up,” he said. “It seems to hold up.”
He acknowledged, though, that the decision could cause increased workplace or school-related anxiety because people may not be complying with the masking requirement or could still be infectious.
“I think it’s going to be a problem for some people. I can’t say I blame them,” Lindberg said.
Khole echoed this, saying the rule will get people back to their everyday lives quicker and may help with workforce shortages, but that’ll likely come at a cost.
“It’s going to come with other challenges, such as with individuals around [a person who tested positive],” he said. “What’s their comfort level and how much we do really believe in the honor system?”
To best prevent contracting COVID-19 in the first place, people should get vaccinated and boostered, don a face mask in public and stay home when sick, health officials say.
Breakthrough cases can and do occur, but are typically milder than in those who are not inoculated.
“Unvaccinated people are relying on the kindness of strangers to protect their lives,” Lindberg said. “There is just no reason not to get vaccinated at this point.”
To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine, visit your local pharmacy’s website or book an appointment through the state at vaccines.nh.gov or by calling its hotline at 2-1-1.
These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.