#covid isolation

[gumjrop]

On February 13, 2024, the Washington Post reported that the CDC is considering ending the five-day isolation period for those with a COVID infection according to anonymous CDC staff. It is imperative that the CDC minimally maintains current isolation guidelines to prevent the unnecessary spread of COVID.

Why is the five day isolation period necessary? The five-day isolation period has allowed people infected by COVID to rest and recover from illness and prevent the exposure and spread of COVID to uninfected people. Ideally, a ten-day isolation period is better to ensure an adequate amount of time for rest and recovery.

Allowing your immune system sufficient time to fight the infection is important. Rest and recovery from an active COVID infection is important, as physical overexertion can have adverse effects on one’s health. Even if vaccinated, boosted, and healthy, a COVID infection can greatly harm one's health, and may lead to Long COVID, a condition that has harmed and disabled millions of Americans.

Prevention of exposure to and spread of COVID requires a minimum five-day isolation period. Clear evidence demonstrates that in the course of an active COVID infection, the highest viral load occurs approximately by day 4 of an infection. Some people may have their symptoms end earlier than others, however, early symptom resolution does not necessarily mean the end of infectiousness, as asymptomatic COVID transmission can occur. Ultimately, by preventing COVID infections, the likelihood of people becoming severely ill from COVID, as well as those who will develop long COVID, will be greatly reduced.

The CDC will be considering and making a decision by April. During this time, we urgently ask Congress and the White House to intervene and ensure that the CDC maintains the current COVID five-day isolation policy. 

Instructions:

We must ask Congress and the White House to ensure the CDC maintains the current 5 day isolation policy for COVID infection. It is important that the CDC maintains its current policy to ensure that the American people have enough time to rest and recover from an active COVID infection, as well as to prevent the spread of COVID to other people. Rest and recovery is important, as an infection can have adverse effects on health. Even those vaccinated, boosted, or healthy could face irreversible harm from COVID. Having multiple infections has the potential to increase the risk of developing Long COVID, a condition that has already injured and disabled millions of Americans. Submit a letter to your government officials via Action Network!

Letter to White House and Congress

Example Letter Below:

Dear Representative,

I am writing to ask you to ensure that the CDC maintains the current isolation policy for those with an active COVID infection, as this protects the health and well being of all Americans at work, school, and all other places of gatherings.

COVID infections injure, harm, and cause death among millions of Americans. Everyone must be protected from COVID infections. COVID is spread through the inhalation of aerosol particles, and the risk of becoming infected is higher in indoor settings compared to outdoor settings. Due to its mechanism of spread, the current 5-day isolation policy is a primary key layer of protection for prevention, as opposed to other approaches against infections in public settings. 

Shortening the isolation window is a failure to recognize the clear scientific evidence that people may have the highest viral loads by day 4 of an infection.(1) For some people, their symptoms may abate below the 5-day time window, but they may remain infectious.(2)

The public relies on guidelines that establish sufficient standards in workplaces and other places of gathering. It ensures protection in vulnerable settings, such as healthcare, long-term care facilities, schools, and workplace settings. COVID remains an ongoing pandemic and threat to the health of the American people. Ongoing reinfections result in more people developing Long COVID.(3)  Any consideration to reduce or eliminate the COVID isolation guideline inexplicably fails to acknowledge core control measures for infectious disease. Any changes prevent the public’s ability to have a standard threshold for rest and recovery from a COVID infection. 

We ask for your support to ensure that the CDC prioritizes the health of people first. We urge you to act on the behalf of all people, especially for those who are most vulnerable. This includes those with advanced age, the immunocompromised, those living with other health conditions, disabled people. Let’s decrease infections in our communities by keeping scientific and evidence-based isolation guidelines.

References:

1. Jennifer K Frediani, Richard Parsons, Kaleb B McLendon, Adrianna L Westbrook, Wilbur Lam, Greg Martin, Nira R Pollock, The New Normal: Delayed Peak SARS-CoV-2 Viral Loads Relative to Symptom Onset and Implications for COVID-19 Testing Programs, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 78, Issue 2, 15 February 2024, Pages 301–307, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad582

2. Rinki Deo, Manish C. Choudhary, Carlee Moser, et al. Symptom and Viral Rebound in Untreated SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Ann Intern Med.2023;176:348-354. [Epub 21 February 2023]. doi:10.7326/M22-2381

3. Bowe, B., Xie, Y. & Al-Aly, Z. Postacute sequelae of COVID-19 at 2 years. Nat Med 29, 2347–2357 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02521-2.

Submit Letter to Government Leaders

#op #covid #covid pandemic #covid news #covid 19 #covid-19 #covid isolation #coronavirus #coronavirus pandemic #pandemic #uspol #cdc #people's cdc #pcdc #covid isn't over #covid recovery #img #links #described in alt text

[redrcs]

Still life with toaster

I'm on my 7th day of covid isolation after managing to not catch it for 5 years. I was booked to get my booster next week, but I think I got done at the supermarket. Fortunately I'm considered old enough to have access to the anti virals. (Dammit /s). They are working great. But that means you get even more whimsy.

#original photographers #home photography #still life #veges and fruit #to say nothing of the toaster #covid isolation

[bluedesignwall]

I miss the beach. Here is a picture of a Taniwha (monster) from my last walk on the beach before I got caught by a real Taniwha.

#monster #taniwha #learning Te Reo is a lifelong journey #beach #beach vibes #COVID isolation #no beach walks #it really does look like a Taniwha

[profoundlyv]

Very exciting night of bad movies and tea here in covid isolation.

-V

#personal #covid isolation

[steffen-dilfrael]

You can listen to Die drei ??? Und der DreiTag Fall P - Fremder Freund but you also could watch me speak along and act out the entirety of Die drei ??? Und der DreiTag Fall P - Fremder Freund between 11pm and short after Midnight on a Tuesday night while on isolation boredom.

#drei drei fragezeichen #drei fragezeichen #drei ??? #dreitag #t3i #justus jonas #peter shaw #bob andrews #covid isolation #how to cure boredom #ich schwör ich hab den Fall schon mehr als 150 Mal gehört #absoluter comfort Fall #weil ganz wild #straße des grauens but make it completely stupid und peter was ist eigentlich los mit dir #der Kuchen ist nicht fergiftet der Kuchen ist ein Geschenk #MOOOM!!!11! VERGIFTET SCHREIBT MAN IMMER NOCH MIT V!1!1!. und nicht mit f. #blacky ist kein Papagei #blacky ist ein mühner.

[threecatsinatrenchcoat123]

The art I’ve done so far while I’ve been in covid isolation 💕✨

#my art <3 #my artwork #my art style #my art 2023 #oc artwork #my oc shit #my ocs do not steal #miss piggy #muppets #the muppets #covid #covid isolation #bleh #bleh lol

[bazilisk]

Put a human being in a huge jar, and trap them in it, for years, but keep them alive, of course. That human will come up with an entire theory about the jar, how they're alive, why they're in it, how to get out of it, and then, everything else in their life that they can possibly think about while they have nothing else to do.

Let them out of the jar. They're now a different person. You can only hope their brain was circling around a constructive rather than a destructive pet theory while they were stuck in there, because they'll believe in whatever god they summoned while they were in there, for the rest of their life, and they'll teach their children about it.

#journal #sarcasm #covid isolation #metaphors #philosophy #epistemology #abuse #trauma #cptsd

[peenaur]

i had an incredibly romantic dream about izzy hands last night and i am still affected…. i am still feeling the effects. i was, i mean, it was….. i’m blushing as i type this. it wasn’t even sexual. it was a slow burn. like what the fuck.

#how do i even talk abt this without sounding fuckin insane lmao #covid isolation #izzy hands #i love izzyyyyy #ofmd

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Ughhhhhhh I wanna take another covid test to see if I'm safe to go run my own errands, but I'm all out of tests and getting more is one of those very errands that I'm not sure if it's safe to do yet!

#would also like to know if it's safe to go back to work next week #but yeah more importantly would like to be able to go do things again #another good friend has agreed to bring me groceries again tomorrow but really I'd like to not inconvenience anybody and just get my own #covid isolation #and I'd like to take velma to a park or something while the weather is nice and not in the 90's+ range #in other news does everything smell weird or is it just me #i ordered the free tests from the post office but no idea when they'll actually arrive

[headbandsandflats]

Generally I want to be home, preferably asleep or almost asleep or having just woken up from sleeping for a long time, almost always. But goddamn the minute you tell me I *can’t* leave for several days the desperation I have to be outside. I have been up since 8 (😒) mourning the bagels and coffees and long walks that I want but can’t have, when, more often than not, I’d be asleep until, idk, 1? And not leave my apartment until it’s already dark out? Anyway, send coffee and bagels thx so much.

#it doesn’t help that it’s been legit gorgeous out for the last two days #and that I plans I was actually looking forward to set for yesterday #and that my friends are having a charming af picnic in Central Park today like wtf #ANYWAY #covid isolation #is not the most fun

[gumjrop]

The Weather

Twenty-seven US states remain at High to Very High levels of SARS-CoV-2 detected in wastewater since February 28, 2024, with five states not reporting.

Wastewater levels are decreasing throughout the country except in the Midwest. The South is still experiencing extremely high transmission. As a reminder, the last two weeks, shown in gray, are provisional data. These values may change as additional wastewater sites report data.

Despite these ongoing high levels of transmission in most of the country, and in defiance of pleas from civil society to protect the most vulnerable among us, the CDC has once again decided to walk back already insufficient protections – this time in the form of isolation guidance. It announced on Friday at 1 pm that it will repeal the 5-day isolation period for COVID-19 and instead treat COVID-19 like it does other respiratory viruses like flu and RSV, linking isolation length with symptomatology and fever. This policy, of course, is not based on the best evidence–just vibes and a lack of care for those of us still dying (1000s weekly) and still becoming disabled by Long COVID. 

Last week, the CDC recommended that people 65 years and older should receive an updated booster. It did not approve a booster for other people in high-risk categories because they didn’t bother studying the benefits and risks in these groups.

Wins

OK. So it’s been a rough week. But you know what? We are all fighting back. We see you all making calls, creating and signing petitions, joining and expanding Mask Blocs, creating and distributing zines, and making your own air-cleaning systems. We see so many more masked, tested, and ventilated events than we used to! We are mobilizing collective power to keep each other safe and to transform this state. 

Next week, March 11, will mark the 5th anniversary of the declaration of the pandemic. We’re not where we should be, but this pandemic has radicalized a lot of us. Keep connecting. Keep finding your people. Keep going. We will win. 

Oh! And check out these Free COVID-19 and flu test vending machines in King County, Washington!

Variants

JN.1 is still the most dominant variant circulating in the United States and is projected to account for 92.3% of all circulating variants by March 2nd, 2024. Two JN.1 descendants, JN.1.13 and JN.1.18, are now the second and third most common circulating variants, projected to be at 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively.

To check for circulating variants within your community, you can find your HHS Region through the CDC Variant Tracker dashboard.

Long Covid

In an article published in Science, Drs Ziyad Al-Aly and Eric Topol reviewed the perplexing case of Long COVID. They discuss the lack of consensus and systematization when it comes to the classification of the disease, partly due to its different mechanisms and manifestations. For example, younger adult and female Long COVID patients are more likely to be afflicted by fatigue, dysautonomia, brain fog, and post-exertional malaise, while older patients are more likely to deal with cardiovascular and metabolic complications. They also discuss the current potential treatments for Long COVID, but express that since nonpharmaceutical interventions have been neglected, vaccines are the only available therapy. However, vaccines are unable to prevent Long COVID. Ultimately, they state that the only way to prevent Long COVID is by ending COVID transmission, such as by administering pan-variant neutralizing intranasal vaccines.

On March 15, 2024, the Long COVID March will be taking place in Washington D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial. The march is intended to mobilize Long COVID patients and allies to demand acknowledgment and policy changes from the government. You can read the march’s mission statement, which includes a list of objectives. 

Take Action

Join us in demanding the CDC reinstate the 5-day COVID isolation policy. Despite the guidelines having already been dropped, we must still fight for adequate protections from COVID to safeguard our communities from harm. Make your voices known by sending a letter to the White House and your elected officials through our Action Network. The People’s CDC will also be implementing other action items in the coming weeks, so look out for those!

Today is COVID Memorial Day, in which we remember the 1.2 million lives lost to COVID in the United States, and show solidarity with the millions living with COVID grief and Long COVID. Check out Marked by COVID to learn more or to participate in today’s virtual vigil.

Again, we must continue to contact our elected officials to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, and we must continue to wear and require the wearing of high-quality respirators such as N95s and KN95s at protests and within organizing spaces. 

#op #covid #covid19 #covid-19 #covid 19 #long covid #long covid march #covid memorial day #coronavirus #sars-cov-19 #covid isn't over #pcdc #people's cdc #cdc #centers for disease control #covid isolation #covid pandemic #coronavirus pandemic #pandemic #covid news #pandemic news #mask up #coronavirus news #ceasefire now #palestine #covid is not over #public health #uspol #img #described in alt text

[theoncomingeasternwind]

Should I visit my Animal Crossing island for the first time in at least a year, or replay Undertale this evening?

#covid isolation #I need a wholesome little game to keep the bad thoughts away

[profoundlyv]

“Cocktails” in covid town.

-V

#personal #covid isolation

[dungeonenvy]

You ever feel like your entire social network has crumbled away and that you've only ever parasitized other people's connections and used them to orchestrate a network without ever understanding what makes up actual meaningful connections between human beings

I mean, yea, a lot of this is on me - my network collapsed due to covid and post op recovery and pretty much all my social interaction since 2020 has been online but with twitter failing it really reminds me that nobody I've ever known has stuck around for long

So I moved to BC and now I don't really know anyone or how to do anything and covid is STILL an issue but fuck I just want to throw a party and listen to fifteen-twenty people talking and laughing and drinking while I flit between social sets and sip on emotional energy that I can never generate on my own

How do I get back to that? Where did I fuck it all up?

#sadposting #the unbearable experience of being Known #long post #covid isolation #im not human #mental illness #maybe i should start drinking again that was great for my social life

[pizzaandcoffeeintherain]

Covid isolation period is being scrapped soon and people with covid can basically go about their lives with no mask on including on public transport and schools :(

#Covid #Covid isolation #scrapped #masks #pandemic

[certaincollections]

Elevated exposure to COVID-19 is part of the territory when it comes to my line of work in real estate. We have to focus on ensuring our community of tenants and investors are served, and that means that, at times, we are at higher risk for exposure while performing tasks like due diligence and site visits. With Omicron becoming more prevalent, I had the likely inevitable happen after completing a site visit: a positive COVID test. I was fortunate enough to only experience mild symptoms like a stuffy nose and low fever, but the real impact I felt was during the required isolation period to protect my family and others from infection.

While at first I was frustrated and focusing on how bored I was because I couldn’t do things that I normally would, something clicked during that isolation period. It was actually a rather very enlightening experience.

#ezfiuniversity #financial independence #covid isolation #enlightenment #mindfulness #inspiration #goal review #due dilligence #investors