According to Anthony Fauci, a testing requirement could be added to the US’s move last week to decrease the isolation period for some persons who test positive for Covid-19.
According to President Joe Biden’s main medical adviser on ABC’s “This Week,” the US Centres for Disease Control is considering include a negative test in recommendations for a shorter isolation period for persons with asymptomatic infections.
Having simple access to tests could become a flashpoint at a time when many Americans are struggling to get them.
Following a positive test, US health officials reduced the required isolation time to five days from ten days last week. Fauci recognised “pushback” to the reduced duration in the absence of any more tests to determine whether a person is still sick.
“We’re going to hear more about it from the CDC in the next day or so,” he said on ABC.
On CNN, Fauci stated that while the omicron form currently sweeping the United States may cause milder illness in the majority of people, the sheer number of cases is likely to cause serious illness in many unvaccinated Americans, putting a burden on health-care resources. “This virus is a lot more transmissible than Delta,” he said.
In the United States, Covid hospital admissions are on the rise again, with an average daily infection rate of 400,000, according to Fauci. Several states have called on their National Guards to assist with medical care due to personnel shortages, and some, like Texas, have requested federal assistance.
According to research conducted in the United Kingdom, the omicron strain appeared to be less severe than the delta version it replaced. The omicron-driven wave appears to have passed its peak without a noticeable surge in deaths, according to South Africa, which discovered the new type in November.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 73% of US adults are completely vaccinated, with 36.3 percent receiving a booster dose. However, state-by-state coverage varies greatly.
Despite the rapid spread of omicron, Fauci believes that schools should remain open, albeit with masking and other restrictions, and that parents should get their children vaccinated if they are eligible.
Methods like masks and vaccines are effective in schools, which should be kept open as much as possible, according to US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
Cardona argued on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that “our default should be in-person learning,” highlighting the advantages of classroom education over virtual learning.
