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People are lining up for the Covid-19 test on Times Square’s mobile test site.
Brian R. Smith / AFP via Getty Images
Public health officials upheld the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to shorten quarantine guidelines for people infected with Covid-19 after being criticized when the Covid infection arrived. Record high.
“We stand on the shoulders of two years of science, two years of infectious understanding, a lot of information gathered from wild-type viruses, alpha and delta variants, and a lot of information we continue to learn. Every day about Omicron, “CDC director Dr. Rochelle Warrensky said at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday.
Agency earlier this week Reduced the recommended time for separation People with Covid-19 take 10 to 5 days if asymptomatic, then 5 days wearing a mask around others.
According to Walensky, 85% to 90% of virus infections occur in the first 5 days, and the viral load is reduced to a level where wearing a mask can stop the infection.
For people exposed to the virus, the duration of quarantine depends on the status of vaccination. People who have been boosted or vaccinated within the last 6 months do not need to be quarantined after exposure, but should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure. Walensky added that those who have not been vaccinated or who have been completely vaccinated more than 6 months ago should be quarantined for 5 days after exposure and tested for Covid-19.
Most public health professionals (and various business groups) generally agreed with the CDC’s decision, but some now point out that ending quarantine on day 5 should be accompanied by negative testing. did.MeTweet, Former Harvard epidemiologist Michael Mina said the decision to stop quarantine without testing was “reckless” because some people had been infected for so long.
Celine Gounder, a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at New York University, said: Tweet.
Walensky said requesting a negative test can be problematic, as a positive PCR test can continue for up to 12 weeks after infection. The CDC currently does not know if rapid antigen testing gives “a good sign of transmission at this stage of infection,” she added.
Although it was difficult for many to test, White House officials said the first delivery of the 500 million takeaway kits ordered by the Biden administration would begin in January.
Health officials carefully painted optimistically at a briefing on Wednesday, confirming that preliminary investigations showed that the virus was highly infectious but less severe. New Covid-19 infections in the United States have increased by 126% in the last two weeks, averaging 267,000 for seven days. New York Times..
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, said hospitalizations increased by 11% and deaths decreased. Hospitalizations and deaths tend to lag behind the number of cases, but “cases and hospitalization patterns and disparities strongly suggest that the more clear the situation, the lower the ratio of hospitalizations to cases,” Fauci said. Says.
“All indications indicate a lower severity of Omicron vs. Delta,” he added.
Based on preliminary data from South Africa and the United Kingdom, fully vaccinated and boosted individuals will have less severe infections, Warensky said.
She added that unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to test positive for coronavirus and 20 times more likely to die than those who have been boosted.
“our The vaccine is working really well To prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death, “Walensky said. “They are actually working very well to prevent cases, but we know that even more groundbreaking cases are happening in the context of Omicron.”
About 45% of eligible Americans received a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Zients said. He added that two out of every three eligible elderly people who are more vulnerable to the virus have already been boosted. Total number of people The reception of booster shots is growing at a steady pace of about 1 million people a day.
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