Time To Shorten COVID-19 Quarantine In US? Local Doctors Say Not Yet
BOSTON (CBS) On Wednesday, the British government shortened the mandatory COVID-19 isolation period from 10 to seven days as long as a person tests negative on days six and seven of the quarantine.
However, two local doctors said that with the Omicron variant on the rise, they don't think the isolation period should be changed in the U.S. just yet.
"We know that generally people who are vaccinated do have high viral loads and can pass the virus, but they get rid of the virus more quickly," said UMass Memorial Medical Director Dr. Robert Klugman. "But we don't have convicing evidence from Delta or Omicron that we can shorten that time, and with Omicron where it takes less virus to pass it on, it may not allow us to shorten the time of quarrantine. So, I think we're stuck with the 10 days, for sure, for the time being."
"And given the prevalence of Omicron - it's now over 50% in the state of Massachusetts - we really need to be careful before we think about how to change these guidances, knowing that we really don't know at what point contagiousness ends," said Massachusetts General Hospital Infectious Diseases Dr. Sandra Nelson.
The CDC director said researchers are looking at data from vaccinated COVID-19 patients to see if a shorter quarantine would work.