And why some experts aren’t happy about the updated guidance.
The CDC is changing up its Covid guidelines and could recommend a controversial new isolation protocol. The Washington Post reports that the agency may scrap its guidance to isolate for five days after testing positive for the coronavirus. We’re breaking down what the new rules could look like and why some experts aren’t happy about the reset.
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Did the CDC change its Covid guidelines?
According to the Post, the CDC’s planning to loosen its Covid rules, bringing them more in line with their flu and RSV recommendations. The updated protocol would allow people to end isolation after they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours and when their symptoms are mild and improving.
The CDC has been working on an update since last summer, but paused during last fall’s surge. It’s expected to release the guidance in April, the Post reports, citing anonymous agency officials. So far, the CDC has declined to confirm whether or not it’s going to implement the change.
“No updates to COVID guidelines to announce at this time,” a CDC spokesperson told CBS. “We will continue to make decisions based on the best evidence and science to keep communities healthy and safe.”
What do experts think of the update?
Within the CDC, officials have said that a new approach to managing the spread of the virus is needed, per the Post. Now that most people have some level of immunity, either because of prior infections or due to the vaccines, the number of Covid deaths and hospitalizations are much lower than they’ve been in previous years.
“Public health has to be realistic,” Michael T. Osterholm, Ph.D., an infectious-disease expert at the University of Minnesota, tells the Post. “We have to try to get the most out of what people are willing to do. …You can be absolutely right in the science and yet accomplish nothing because no one will listen to you.”
Many experts have criticized the CDC’s stance, saying it minimizes the threat of Covid and long Covid, may allow the virus to spread more aggressively, and puts those already vulnerable — older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and others — at an even higher risk. Experts have also questioned the agency’s decision to treat Covid like the flu or other respiratory viruses, because it’s already proven to be deadlier and more contagious.
“This could actually increase Covid and long Covid cases and, to a certain extent, probably illness among high-risk individuals and thus hospitalizations and deaths,” Anand Parekh, MD, chief medical adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told NPR.
