The Cdc Is Expected To Ease Covid 19 Recommendations Including For Schools As Soon As This Week

The agency is also expected to weaken routine testing for Covid-19 in schools as a way to monitor the spread of the virus, according to sources briefed on the agency’s plans but not authorized to speak to a reporter. Instead, he says it may be more useful to base testing on community levels of Covid-19 and if settings are higher-risk, such as nursing homes or prisons. The changes, which could be made public as early as this week, were previewed to educators and public health officials. They are still being discussed and are not final. In a statement to CNN, the agency said: “CDC is always evaluating our guidelines as the science changes and will update the public as it happens.” As part of the expected changes, the CDC will also soon remove a recommendation that students exposed to Covid-19 be regularly tested to stay in the classroom. The strategy, called “test to stay,” was proposed by the agency in December during the first Omicron wave to keep unvaccinated children who were exposed but asymptomatic in the classroom instead of being quarantined at home.
The retention test has been resource-intensive for schools, and some districts had expressed concerns about having enough money to continue, a source said. In schools and beyond, the agency will no longer recommend staying at least 6 feet away from other people as a protective measure. Instead, the new guidelines aim to help people understand which kinds of settings are more dangerous than others because of issues like poor ventilation, overcrowding and personal characteristics like age and underlying health.
The CDC is also set to ease quarantine requirements for people who have not been vaccinated or who are not up to date on their Covid-19 vaccines. The agency currently recommends that people who are not up to date on their shots stay home for at least five days after close contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19. From now on, they will not have to stay at home, but they will have to wear a mask and get tested at least five days after exposure. People who are sick with Covid-19 should still self-isolate, the agency is expected to say. The agency also plans to re-emphasise the importance of building ventilation as a way to stop the spread of many respiratory diseases, not just Covid-19. It aims to encourage schools to do more to clean and freshen their indoor air. Sources say the modifications reflect both a shift in public sentiment toward the pandemic — many Americans have stopped wearing masks or social distancing — and a high level of underlying immunity in the population. Testing of blood samples suggests that as of December, 95% of Americans have had Covid-19 or been vaccinated against it, reducing their chances of getting seriously ill or dying if they get it again.
CDC recommendations are not legally binding. Many cities, states and school districts will reconsider them, but may ultimately pursue different strategies.
An example of this is masks in schools. More than 200 million people – about 60% of the total population – live in a county with a “high community level of Covid-19”, where the CDC warns of a risk of burdening the health care system and recommends universal indoor coverage. However, most schools have kept masks optional for students this year. Among the top 500 K-12 school districts, based on enrollment, about 98 percent do not require masks, according to data firm Burbio’s school policy tracker. However, agency guidance is still important as a foundation. When cities or states try to go beyond what the CDC recommends, they may face pushback.

title: “The Cdc Is Expected To Ease Covid 19 Recommendations Including For Schools As Soon As This Week " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-22” author: “Leland Hernandez”

The agency is also expected to weaken routine testing for Covid-19 in schools as a way to monitor the spread of the virus, according to sources briefed on the agency’s plans but not authorized to speak to a reporter. Instead, he says it may be more useful to base testing on community levels of Covid-19 and if settings are higher-risk, such as nursing homes or prisons. The changes, which could be made public as early as this week, were previewed to educators and public health officials. They are still being discussed and are not final. In a statement to CNN, the agency said: “CDC is always evaluating our guidelines as the science changes and will update the public as it happens.” As part of the expected changes, the CDC will also soon remove a recommendation that students exposed to Covid-19 be regularly tested to stay in the classroom. The strategy, called “test to stay,” was proposed by the agency in December during the first Omicron wave to keep unvaccinated children who were exposed but asymptomatic in the classroom instead of being quarantined at home.
The retention test has been resource-intensive for schools, and some districts had expressed concerns about having enough money to continue, a source said. In schools and beyond, the agency will no longer recommend staying at least 6 feet away from other people as a protective measure. Instead, the new guidelines aim to help people understand which kinds of settings are more dangerous than others because of issues like poor ventilation, overcrowding and personal characteristics like age and underlying health.
The CDC is also set to ease quarantine requirements for people who have not been vaccinated or who are not up to date on their Covid-19 vaccines. The agency currently recommends that people who are not up to date on their shots stay home for at least five days after close contact with someone who tests positive for Covid-19. From now on, they will not have to stay at home, but they will have to wear a mask and get tested at least five days after exposure. People who are sick with Covid-19 should still self-isolate, the agency is expected to say. The agency also plans to re-emphasise the importance of building ventilation as a way to stop the spread of many respiratory diseases, not just Covid-19. It aims to encourage schools to do more to clean and freshen their indoor air. Sources say the modifications reflect both a shift in public sentiment toward the pandemic — many Americans have stopped wearing masks or social distancing — and a high level of underlying immunity in the population. Testing of blood samples suggests that as of December, 95% of Americans have had Covid-19 or been vaccinated against it, reducing their chances of getting seriously ill or dying if they get it again.
CDC recommendations are not legally binding. Many cities, states and school districts will reconsider them, but may ultimately pursue different strategies.
An example of this is masks in schools. More than 200 million people – about 60% of the total population – live in a county with a “high community level of Covid-19”, where the CDC warns of a risk of burdening the health care system and recommends universal indoor coverage. However, most schools have kept masks optional for students this year. Among the top 500 K-12 school districts, based on enrollment, about 98 percent do not require masks, according to data firm Burbio’s school policy tracker. However, agency guidance is still important as a foundation. When cities or states try to go beyond what the CDC recommends, they may face pushback.