Pirate's Cove

The changes are supposed to be an admission of reality

Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health and the chief of infectious diseases at North Shore University Hospital and LIJ Medical Center, thinks changes like these are partly an “admission of reality” from the CDC.

“I can’t speak for the CDC, but I think in this particular case that their guidelines have to be, at least somewhat, in touch with what people are doing regardless of what their guidelines are,” he said.

In other words, most people haven’t bothered with CDC guidance in quite some time. They’ve moved on to live with COVID19. Except for politicians who love the power

CDC ends recommendations for social distancing and quarantine for Covid-19 control, no longer recommends test-to-stay in schools

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the nation should move away from restrictive measures such as quarantines and social distancing and focus on reducing severe disease from Covid-19.

Most of us have

In new guidelines released Thursday, the agency no longer recommends staying at least 6 feet away from other people to reduce the risk of exposure — a shift from guidance that had been in place since the early days of the pandemic.

The shift is a sign of how much has changed since the beginning of the pandemic more than two years ago. Nearly the entire US population has at least some immunity through vaccination, previous infection or, in some cases, both.

“The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” Greta Massetti, who leads the Field Epidemiology and Prevention Branch at the CDC, said Thursday.

“High levels of population immunity due to vaccination and previous infection and the many available tools to protect the general population, and protect people at higher risk, allow us to focus on protecting people from serious illness from Covid-19.”

Wait, hold on, what was that?

As SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, continues to circulate globally, high levels of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity and the availability of effective treatments and prevention tools have substantially reduced the risk for medically significant COVID-19 illness (severe acute illness and post–COVID-19 conditions) and associated hospitalization and death

That’s from the CDC guidelines. For what, 2 years, they told us that natural immunity really wasn’t a thing, particularly after the vaccines were released. Now they say it is thing.

Anyhow, there are lots of changes in terms of contact tracing, isolation if exposed but no symptoms, and doing away with the 6 foot rule (bummer, I like to keep my distance and do not like to shake hands. I’ll continue doing that. Don’t forget, the chances of getting it come more from people you know getting close than strangers. I’ll also continue washing my hands a lot, but, I did that before COVID)

But the guidance does keep some measures the same. It encourages testing for people with symptoms and their close contacts. It also says people who test positive should stay home for at least five days and wear a mask around others for 10 days. It also continues to recommend that people wear masks indoors in about half the country.

Huh? Masks don’t work. If you’re still sick, stay home. Keep away from the rest of us, just like if it is a flu or a cold.

Chin-Hong thinks some states, like California, will continue to go beyond the CDC’s guidance in their own recommendations, but by and large, he thinks these reflect the prevailing attitudes toward the pandemic. He sees it as a move by the CDC to try to regain the public’s trust.

That’s because Government likes controlling the citizens

A recent survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that most Americans (54%) are no longer masking indoors, and about 4 in 10 say they’ve fully returned to their pre-pandemic routines — up from 16% in January.

Where are these 46% who mask indoors? Around my area, I’d put it at 5-10%, and half of them are either wearing a worthless mask, like a cloth or medical one, not a K-95, and half of all, regardless of type of mask aren’t wearing it properly, leaving openings and uncovering their noses and even mouths.

The agency removed the recommendation that kids in different classrooms avoid mixing, a practice known as cohorting. It also removed advice that kids who are contacts of someone who tested positive for Covid-19 take regular tests — and test negative — to remain in the classroom, which was known as test-to-stay.

But, schools being the uber-liberal hotbeds they are, will probably force kids to do things like masking, even as the guidance was loosened a while ago. They love that power. But, really, most of us have moved on to some degree.

Read: CDC Loosens Wuhan Flu Guidance, Mentions Natural Immunity »