There’s some hope in the CDC’S quarantine advisory
We note with interest news emerging on Wednesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), America’s health protection agency, has advised that people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need to quarantine if they are exposed to the novel coronavirus.
The CDC, in an updated guidance on its website, made it clear though, that fully vaccinated means that at least two weeks have passed since the application of the second dose of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-dose vaccine. That, as scientists have told us, is due to the fact that it takes two weeks to build full immunity after receiving the final dose of vaccine.
While noting that it is not yet known how long vaccine protection lasts, the CDC also advised that anyone who had their last jab three months ago or more should still quarantine if they are exposed and, also, if they show symptoms.
“This recommendation to waive quarantine for people with vaccine-derived immunity aligns with quarantine recommendations for those with natural immunity, which eases implementation,” the agency said.
The CDC, we are told, will update guidance when it learns more.
Quarantine, as we all know, can help stop the spread of the virus, that is why health experts advise that anyone exposed to someone with the virus, or who is showing symptoms, should go into isolation for at least 14 days.
The availability of vaccines now seems to have given some hope for an easing of that protocol, but we must emphasise that people should not regard it as a licence to be careless. It is still important that we all continue to protect ourselves by wearing a mask, maintaining a distance of six feet away from other people, washing our hands often, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and covering sneezes and coughs.
Putting an end to this pandemic as quickly as possible is in the best interest of everyone; for, as it now stands, people are hurting socially, financially and emotionally.
Add to that the devastating effect that the pandemic is having on education and one can foresee the severe learning deficit that the world will be forced to deal with in a few years if we fail to put the virus in check in short order.
We have continuously argued in this space that, rather than retreat — as we did in the earlier stages of COVID-19 — it is necessary to learn to adapt and live with the virus in the same way that previous generations had to do with pandemics in their time.
Readers will recall that last November the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s report on the impact of COVID-19 projected that the global economy will contract by a staggering 4.3 per cent in 2020. The agency also warned that the crisis could send an additional 130 million people into extreme poverty.
Just imagine how many deaths may flow from that, as well as from the increased numbers of people afflicted with serious ailments who will have difficulty receiving medical attention because health systems are overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.
The CDC’S quarantine advisory, as we said, brings some hope of keeping industry running, something we need to do while being careful to protect our health.
Except for the views expressed in the column above, the articles published on this page do not necessarily represent the views of the Jamaica Observer.