I tested positive on Sunday and my employer told me I could return to work today (Friday). Without a negative test, even if I am still symptomatic. Baffling.
Not baffling at all.
CDC says isolate for 5 days. Friday is 5 days.
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Yes we ran the CDC calculator for my daughter and thatās what it showed.
Unfortunately for all of us, CDC is not adjusting their policies to reflect new dataā¦and well, thatās about the only thing we are sure of with Covidā¦constant change.
Data show that wIth Omicron, people shed virus for a MEDIAN of 5 days. (Interquartile range was 3 to 9 days).
8 days was the MEDIAN time to turn culture negative with Omicron (IQR range 5-10 days). Duration infectious: 75% ppl > 5 days, 50% ppl > 8 days, 25% ppl >10 days.
So when people leave isolation at the 5 day point and donāt wear a mask for a minimum of 5 more days (which is CDC recommended, but not many are following that IME), they are spreading virus, infecting more people, causing severe disease in at risk/unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated people, and enabling the development of more variants.
Itās extremely unfortunate that CDC has stuck its head in the sand to not update this guidance, and recommend testing before exiting isolation (which Calif DPH does). CDC leadership has completely failed us (for more reasons than just this) which is something I never expected I would say.
Relevant Eric Topol and Michael Mina twitter threads here: https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1542255901452603392 and here: https://twitter.com/michaelmina_lab/status/1542335371337424898
Data they are talking about here: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2202092?query=featured_home
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My S went to CityMD when he got COVID and they said to isolate for 5 days and if he had no fever he could go out but should mask for an additional 5 days.
Thankfully he is fine now and came to visit us the suburbs for a night to get some fresh air.
My work requires masks because CDC recommends them and case count is high. County does not require them. Weāre back to taking turns in the lab (no more than two people in our lab at one time, super-inconvenient). At the same time weāre back to in-person conferences (unmasked if you want) and traveling (unmasked if you want). TBH Iāve lost the plot at this point.
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Thatās exactly what the doctor told me two weeks ago when I tested positive and had symptoms. I was on paxlovid, and by the second day on the drug the fever was gone and the chest cough disappeared. Was just left with nasal congestion and sniffles.
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Seems like testing would be a better way to estimate when one is unlikely to be contagious than using an arbitrary number of days that may not reflect individual reality.
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CityMD told my S that some people test positive well after they are no longer contagious.
This is said to be common with PCR testing. However, rapid antigen test results (that are more likely to be accessible to someone at home with COVID-19) tend to more closely approximate contagiousness.
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Thatās what my employer would do, and thatās just for those who do the right thing and get tested. Many would just sweep it under the rug and claim allergies. The health clinic they send us to for a date to come back says 5 days, but thereās nothing about masking for 5 more in the office. They seem to forget that part.
Mask wearing in my building was never good even when it was supposed to be mandatory. I havenāt seen anyone wear one in a long while. I usually donāt myself. However, I did when I went to a retirement party for my coworker. They had to retire for serious non-covid related heart:lung problems. It was 2 hours with many people in the conference room eating. I was the only one with a mask. I told retiree and their family that I couldnāt forgive myself if they caught covid from me and they were all alarmed āyou feel sick?!ā Uh not at all but thatās the whole problem with covid! Fortunately, she didnāt seem to catch it there.
The FDA decided that indeed
The great majority of the unmasked who caught covid arenāt about to put a mask on after they have had it. They donāt care about infecting others at that point. Not many people do anymore at any point (at least around here, where we are have high community transmission and community level, nearly 25% positivity [antigen tests not counted in my state]). Covidās over, yāall!
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I just assumed there would be something more nuanced for in-person , face to face work. 5 days ā¦but what if I were still ill? And as someine said, it would have been easy to not test and just say "āooh itās a head coldā and spread it around which is exactly how this was caught by DH and brougt to me.
And as a result, in the cascade of quarantine, a sibling in another state had to move plans (because I couldnāt come stay with our parents), we are unable to attend to a family crisis, and a long scheduled high level meeting DH was slated tofly to has been moved yet again at great expense. Peopleās idea that it is just their life so they can just do what they want is naive.
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So its been a week since my night of going out and home testing has shown negative fpr both I and my friend. i have not been feeling great all week, but is is real, or mental? Also is 7/8 days enough time that has passed? I leave today for NY to visit relatives and then a conference. AS much as I hate it I may be wearing a mask again on an airplane.(I am in first class)
The big issue is that tomorrow I see my mom, and I found out that we are visiting an elderly sick relative. i will not go inside to visit the relative, and we are all suppose to test before we show up. I do worry about how the rapid home tests(antigen) seem to not show positive until a later time then a PCR, and you can be contageous and not know it.
Exactly how contageous are you though if an antigen is showing negative is a vaccinated and boosted person? If you test positive a day later, did you put everyone you were with at risk?
Rapid testing just before is probably the best you can do. PCR testing may not have results by tomorrow, and testing now before being possibly exposed in airports and airplanes would not catch an infection from airports and airplanes (it might also not catch a pre-detectable infection you may have now). You might be able to find a PCR test with results in two hours after you get there, but that could cost $$$.
Do you have rapid PCR available in your area? My city has a rapid PCR testing kiosk that you make an appointment for (same day or later in the week), and itās free to us because we are insured. Results within 2 hours. Have had to use this regularly after exposure in order to make sure I wasnāt incubating and potentially carrying to someone else.
Preferably, that needs to be available (without excessive cost or inconvenience) to @sdl0625 in the location after landing from the airplane trip. Getting a negative test result before the trip is not much help if a significant exposure risk (i.e. airports and airplanes) occurs between the test and the event that the precautionary testing is for (visit with potentially medically vulnerable people).
True but if the visit is tomorrow, there is no way OP would be contagious with something picked up during travel. If the visit is later in the week, then yes, test once you are there 3 days. If you want to know before you go, test today (moot point now ā rapid PCR testing likely done for the day; cut off here at least is 3pm)
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I turn 49 in a couple weeks and have asthma; Iād like another booster as I had mine way back in November. But as Iām not 50 I canāt unless I say Iām immune compromised.
As a 100% single parent, I agonize about this.
You shouldnāt agonize about this. Perhaps ask your doctor or pharmacist what they think? One of them may recommend/administer the 2nd booster for you even though you technically donāt meet the CDC recommendations for a 2nd boosterā¦and they are merely recommendations, not rules, or laws. Not to mention there is plenty of vaccine supply, so no issues there.
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