Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CDC Will Lift 5-Day Covid Isolation Recommendations
Americans who test positive for the coronavirus no longer need to routinely stay home from work and school for five days under new guidance planned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency is loosening its covid isolation recommendations for the first time since 2021 to align it with guidance on how to avoid transmitting flu and RSV, according to four agency officials and an expert familiar with the discussions. (Sun, 2/13)
Millions of people deal with Covid-19 symptoms long after their initial infections. Two new studies – one looking at pregnant people and the other on children – give a better look at the burden from this health problem that doctors say often goes under the radar. (Christensen, 2/12)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that it is monitoring a newly identified SARS-CoV-2 variant called BA.2.87.1 from South Africa that has mutations that may pose a risk of immune escape, but so far there's no sign that it is spreading widely. (Schnirring, 2/12)
Also —
The Canadian government bungled a COVID-era app for travelers at every stage, failed to keep records and poorly utilized funds, the country's top watchdog said in a highly critical report on Monday. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), working with the health and public services ministries, launched the ArriveCAN application in April 2020 to collect health information from travelers and assist with quarantine measures. ... The app was updated 177 times, often with little to no documentation of testing, and at one point some 10,000 travelers were wrongly instructed to quarantine, she said. (2/12)
Employees, parents and students are trying to figure out the new norms for taking a sick day. Schools and businesses largely erred on the side of caution at the height of the pandemic, but expectations are now shifting — in ways that can be difficult to predict. (Rubin, 2/12)
On top of the usual colds and flu that are common this time of year, there's a new strain of COVID to worry about. In response, doctors from Tallahassee- based Capital Health Plan are urging people to beef up their immune systems before they get sick. (Flanigan, 2/12)
