Washington, December 25, 2008 : .Due to staff shortages and the increase in hospitalisations and new cases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shortened isolation times for Covid-19-infected healthcare workers. On Thursday, the CDC updated its guidelines.It recommended that healthcare workers who have been asymptomatic for seven days should return to work.
According to the agency, workers who received all of their recommended vaccination doses including boosters are not required to be quarantined at home after high-risk exposures.
These guidelines are applicable to any healthcare facility that is directly involved with patient care.
This includes hospitals, nursing homes and dental offices.
Rochelle Walensky, Director of CDC said Friday that Omicron is causing a surge in patient numbers in healthcare.”CDC has updated its recommendations to take into account what we know regarding infection and exposure within the context vaccines and booster doses.”
She stated that her goal was to protect patients and healthcare workers and reduce undue burdens on healthcare facilities.
Walensky advised all healthcare workers to be vaccinated.
The CDC stated that these guidelines are not applicable to everyone and they only affect the healthcare workers.
According to CDC guidelines, those infected by Covid-19 need to isolate for a minimum of 10 days.
Many business and health leaders hope that the CDC might reconsider the length of the vaccination period.
According to the CDC, it will continue to assess isolation and quarantine options for the wider population as it discovers more about Omicron variant.
New Omicron variants are causing a spike in winter Covid-19 deaths, hospitalizations, and cases across the United States.
Hospitals are already overwhelmed, particularly with those patients still unvaccinated or who delayed receiving necessary treatment during the pandemic.
Many workers, including doctors and nurses have experienced burnout.
This week, President Joe Biden announced that 1000 military medical personnel would be deployed in support of hospitals.The US National Guard has already begun working in nursing homes and hospitals in order to reduce understaffing in many states.
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