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Washington – Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb said a shortened recommended quarantine period under review by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to capture the “vast majority” of coronavirus infections .
“What you want are careful, practical recommendations that people are going to follow,” Gottlieb said in an interview with “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “And when you have a 14-day quarantine period, it’s such a long period that a lot of people aren’t going to follow that anyway, and it’s hard to stick to the recommendations. So put in a 10. – quarantine period of days, even a quarantine period of seven days, you will capture the vast majority of infections in that time. “
Under current guidelines, the CDC recommends that people quarantine people for 14 days after their last contact with someone with COVID-19. But the health agency plans to shorten this period. Admiral Brett Giroir, deputy health secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, told reporters on Tuesday that there is “a preponderance of evidence that a shorter quarantine supplemented with a test might be able to shorten this period of quarantine “.
The Trump administration, Giroir said, “is actively working on this kind of guidance” and reviewing the evidence.
Gottlieb called the CDC’s potential move a “prudent step” that should have been considered sooner. Most people exposed to COVID-19 will be infected within five to seven days, he said, although there is evidence that some will not be infected until 14 days after exposure.
“I think you have to find a balance between the practicality of what you recommend and the ability and willingness of people to comply with it,” he said.
The possible change in CDC recommendations comes as the country experiences its latest surge in coronavirus infections, and public health experts expect the number of cases to rise after the Thanksgiving holiday.
With more than 13.2 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University, and hospitalizations on the rise, governors and mayors have started to reimpose restrictions on restaurants and bars in a bid to ease the spread of the coronavirus, with many places forcing residents to wear masks in public.
Gottlieb said that in parts of the northeast and central Atlantic, where governors took “more aggressive action earlier,” he expects infection rates to remain below those of ‘other regions of the country. He also noted that in other areas where governors have refused to implement strict restrictions, such as masking warrants or the closure of bars and restaurants, there is little evidence that their economies have improved. behaved only in places where more stringent measures are taken.
“What is really holding consumers back at home is the virus,” he said. “Why people don’t go out to eat is that they don’t want to go to restaurants and are at risk of getting infected. It’s not the mandates and state action that keep people at home. . It’s the infection. “
As coronavirus cases continue to rise and top health experts warn country faces harsh winter, three pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, have reported positive late-stage trial results for their COVID-19 vaccines. On Tuesday, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet to discuss the assignment of a COVID-19 vaccine and make recommendations on who should receive it first.
Gottlieb admitted the country “will not have enough reserves to immunize everyone” who may be eligible for a vaccine, but predicted that the first tranche will go to health workers and residents of long-term care facilities . But with just 40 million doses available throughout January if Pfizer and Moderna receive emergency use clearances from the FDA, he said there was “probably not enough vaccine to work. fully through these two groups. “
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