CDC comes out with reduced COVID-19 guidelines
An easing of guidelines on COVID-19 comes just in time for the start of schools in Colorado. It means no more recommendations of social distancing and no need for people exposed to the virus to quarantine. The changes could be big for schools as students head back to classes soon in Colorado. The CDC dropped its "test to stay" recommendation. That said, students exposed to the virus could test regularly rather than quarantine at home.
"I think that the devil is in the details as with most things," said Dr. Ken Lyn-Kew, a pulmonary critical care physician and National Jewish Health. The CDC, he believes, needed to transition. "They also recognize that most places are not going to go into a shutdown or issue new mandates, and so they were looking for a way to get people to do what's right — protect themselves and keep us moving forward without being overly burdensome."
COVID is still spreading, but the severity has declined among those getting it. Among those with a case this week, CBS4 Colorado journalist Tori Mason. "I've managed to avoid COVID for two and a half years, and I got it, definitely got it," she said from her apartment. "I'm starting to feel the symptoms we've been reporting on day-by-day. Now, I can't smell anything." She is vaccinated and boosted, which she believes has lessened the run of the virus. But there is still an emotional toll. "I mean, my grandmother died of COVID. It bothered me."
COVID's severity is being reduced by its spread. "Ninety-five percent of Americans plus have been exposed to this virus in one way or the other," Dr. Lyn-Kew said. "Either by medical science through a vaccination or through natural infection." Dr. Lyn-Kew said he had no one currently in the ICU with COVID. But that does not mean no danger.
The new recommendations mean deciding on risks of exposure for people who may still have medical challenges. "You would have to judge your risk of being in that same room with me, and I think that what you have to expect is that this virus is going to be around," Dr. Lyn Kew said.
