Author: Dr. Lester

This is a long post but worth reading…..

At FCAAIA we have been vigilant about protecting our patients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The omicron variant is highly transmissible.  It is less likely to result in severe symptoms, hospitalizations, and death than the delta variant.  However, if a smaller percentage of a much larger number of people get sick the total number of severely ill will be greater. In fact, that is EXACTLY what we are seeing with omicron with hospitals overwhelmed again and with more children than ever getting very sick.

The unvaccinated are particularly at risk and therefore also place others at increased risk. Being fully immunized includes having gotten your booster if you are eligible.

Who needs to isolate or quarantine and how? Complete guidelines from the CDC are available by clicking here. Guidelines are updated regularly, so we encourage you to bookmark this link and refer to it often. Here, we summarize the latest (updated 1/4/22).

• You QUARANTINE when you might have been exposed to the virus and may or may not have been infected.
• You ISOLATE when you are sick or when you have been infected with the virus, even if you don’t have symptoms.

Who should quarantine?

If you come into close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should quarantine if you are in one of the following groups:

• You are ages 18 or older and completed the primary series of recommended vaccine, but have not received a recommended booster shot when eligible.
• You received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine (completing the primary series) over 2 months ago and have not received a recommended booster shot.
• You are not vaccinated or have not completed a primary vaccine series.

Who does not need to quarantine?

If you came into close contact with someone with COVID-19 and you are in one of the following groups, you do not need to quarantine.

• You are ages 13 or older and have received all recommended vaccine doses, including boosters and additional primary shots for some immunocompromised people.
• You are ages 5-12 years and completed the primary vaccine series of COVID-19 vaccines.
• You had confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (you tested positive using a viral test).

Who needs to isolate?

• People who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms.
• People with symptoms of COVID-19, including people who are awaiting test results or have not been tested. People with symptoms should isolate even if they do not know if they have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19.

Ending isolation for people who had COVID-19 and had symptoms

If you had COVID-19 and had symptoms  isolate for at least 5 days. To calculate your 5-day isolation period, day 0 is your first day of symptoms. Day 1 is the first full day after your symptoms developed. You can leave isolation after 5 full days.

• You can end isolation after 5 full days if you are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and your other symptoms have improved (Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation​).

Ending isolation for people who tested positive for COVID-19 but had no symptoms

If you test positive for COVID-19 and never develop symptoms, isolate for at least 5 days. Day 0 is the day of your positive viral test (based on the date you were tested) and day 1 is the first full day after the specimen was collected for your positive test. You can leave isolation after 5 full days.

• If you continue to have no symptoms, you can end isolation after at least 5 days.