Michigan Updates COVID-19 School Quarantine Guidelines for Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Students – Here’s a Review

As Michigan students return to class, the MDHHS has updated its COVID-19 quarantine guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated students.

The MDHHS recommends that local health departments and schools work together to quickly isolate cases of COVID-19 among students and staff, identify close contacts of these cases, and adopt quarantine policies that reduce the risk of transmission in schools while allowing for in-person learning. When evidence-based prevention measures, including universal masking, are in place, changes can be made to the 10-14 day home quarantine.

Previous coverage: Michigan Department of Health recommends universal masking in schools

School quarantine guidelines for asymptomatic students who have been exposed to a student infected with COVID-19 vary depending on various circumstances. Either way, a student who has tested positive for COVID-19 should self-isolate and follow instructions from their local health department. Anyone who shows symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status, should be tested and isolated as directed.

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✔️ Under the new directive, a student exposed to COVID-19 can stay in school in the following scenarios:

• A fully vaccinated student (whether or not wearing a mask) who entered close contact with an HIV positive student. The exposed student can stay in school if they wear a mask and watch for symptoms for 14 days after exposure. They should be tested for COVID-19 three to five days after their last exposure to the COVID-positive student. If the exposed student is positive, the student should self-isolate and follow the instructions of their local health department.

• An unvaccinated student who was masked and exposed to a COVID-positive student who was also masked in an indoor school, as long as the students stayed at least three to six feet apart. The exposed student can stay in school if they are wearing a mask, but they must watch for symptoms for 14 days after exposure.

• An unvaccinated student who was masked and exposed to a COVID-positive student who was also masked in an indoor school, but the students were within three feet of each other and the student is testing daily.

• The exposed pupil may remain in school if he wears a mask. They should watch for symptoms for 14 days and test daily before entering the school building for the seven days following the exhibition. They should continue to monitor symptoms for a total of 14 days after exposure.

• The exposed student should work with their school district and the local health department to determine the options available for daily testing. If the student cannot complete the daily tests for seven days after exposure, they should not stay in school and should follow the tips below.

⛔ An unvaccinated student exposed to COVID-19 should not stay in school in the following cases:

• If the student exposed to or positive for COVID, or both, was not wearing a mask. Unvaccinated students who are not masked are more likely to get sick because they are more likely to have been exposed to larger amounts of the virus.

• The exposed student should not stay in school and instead should be quarantined at home for 10 days after exposure.

  • They can come back after the 10th day if they have not shown any symptoms during those 10 days. They should continue to monitor symptoms for a total of 14 days after exposure.

  • The student can return after the seventh day if they are negative on that day and have no symptoms. They should continue to monitor symptoms for a total of 14 days after exposure.

• A student who was masked and exposed to a COVID-positive student who was also masked in an indoor school, but the students were within three feet of each other and the student does not test daily.

“The best protection against COVID-19 are the three safe and effective vaccines we have available, and we urge all eligible Michiganders to get vaccinated,” said Dr Joneigh Khaldun, medical director and deputy director of health. “Since many of our students are too young to be vaccinated, masks are an important tool in preventing the spread of the virus and allowing in-person learning to continue without interruption.”

(You can view the full MDHHS guidance document here)

Related: Tracking Michigan School Districts and Colleges Requiring Masks for the 2021-2022 School Year

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What the FDA says about COVID-19 vaccines for young children

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement on Friday, September 10, 2021 as manufacturers of COVID-19 rush to submit clinical data aimed at obtaining regulatory approval for vaccines in children under 12.

In summary:

• FDA says clinical trials testing COVID-19 vaccines for children should include a follow-up period of at least about two months, “To allow appropriate safety monitoring after administration of vaccine doses for at least half of the subjects vaccinated in clinical trials”.

• It comes after Pfizer-BioNTech said earlier Friday that it would seek global approval soon to use its COVID-19 vaccine in children as young as 5 years old. Pfizer said it was preparing to make smaller doses of the vaccine for younger people.
• “We will be presenting the results of our study on children aged 5 to 11 to authorities around the world in the coming weeks,” Ozlem Tureci, co-founder of BioNTech and its chief medical officer, told Der Spiegel, a site German news, in an interview published on Friday.

• The FDA has said that once manufacturers complete the relevant portion of their clinical trials, they must complete the analysis of study data to understand how safe the vaccine is and how well it works in clinical trial participants.

• “The FDA will work closely with each manufacturer to ensure that this data analysis is robust and meets regulatory standards. Once manufacturers analyze their clinical trial data, they will compile the information and may apply for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or submit a Biologics License Application (BLA) for approval, as appropriate. , for this young population at the FDA, ”read a press release. of the FDA.

• When a complete application for EUA or approval has been received by the FDA, the agency “will carefully, thoroughly and independently review the data to assess the benefits and risks and be ready to complete its review as quickly as possible,” probably within a few weeks. rather than months. However, the agency’s ability to promptly review these submissions will depend in part on the quality and timeliness of submissions by the manufacturers, ”the FDA statement said.

Read more here.

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