CDC Says Some Vaccinated People May Skip Quarantine
If you have completed both doses of COVID-19 vaccine, you may not need to be quarantined after contact with someone who tested positive in accordance with the latest CDC guidelines . This is a policy change based on some promising new data.
The goal of the quarantine is to prevent transmission of the coronavirus to anyone while they wait to see if they develop symptoms. (Once you find out that you are sick, you are in isolation, not in quarantine.) During quarantine, as you should already know, you need to stay at home and take steps to protect others.
Here’s a new tip from the CDC :
However, vaccinated persons have been in contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, are not required to be placed in quarantine if they meet all the following criteria †:
- Fully vaccinated (i.e., ≥2 weeks after receiving the second dose in a 2-dose series or ≥2 weeks after receiving one dose of a single vaccine)
- Within 3 months after the last dose in the series.
- Show no symptoms after being infected with COVID-19.
Individuals who do not meet all three of the above criteria must continue to comply with current quarantine regulations after coming into contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Pay attention to the 3-month timeframe. It is likely that protection from the vaccine will last longer than three months, but we just don’t know yet. If you were one of the first to receive the vaccine in December, then around March you may need to start quarantine again after infection.
However, the three-month period is likely to be extended if we receive data showing that the protection lasts longer.
Why is this okay?
If you are confused because you thought the vaccine still allows people to transmit the disease, let’s take a minute to clarify.
While we have known for months that COVID vaccines (both Pfizer and Moderna) prevent serious illness, clinical trials have not tested whether vaccinated people can transmit the disease or not. This gave rise to the myth that the vaccine does not prevent infection, but the truth is, we just didn’t know if and to what extent it helped. Physician Megan Ranney tweeted that we actually have several studies hinting that the vaccine could stop or significantly reduce transmission.
CDC says:
While the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from vaccinated individuals to others is still uncertain, vaccination has been demonstrated to prevent symptomatic COVID-19; Symptomatic and presymptomatic transmission is thought to play a more important role in transmission than purely asymptomatic transmission. In addition, the individual and community benefits of avoiding unnecessary quarantine may outweigh the potential but unknown risk of transmission and make it easier to channel public health resources to those most at risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to others. This recommendation to remove vaccine-based quarantine for people with immunity is consistent with the quarantine recommendation for people with natural immunity , making it easier to follow.
It’s a bit of a gamble, but it’s the same with each of these major policy decisions. Requiring vaccinated people to continue to be quarantined has its drawbacks, such as skipping work.
If you are vaccinated and can skip quarantine, the CDC recommends a few measures just in case: you should still wear a mask around others, follow all other safety protocols (such as distance yourself), and be sure to monitor your symptoms. … The vaccine is not 100% effective, so there is a small chance you could get sick anyway.
Expect the policy to evolve as we learn more about vaccines and new coronavirus variants. For example, Australia still requires vaccinated people to be quarantined before entering the country. They saw the same evidence as the CDC, but made a different judgment. We are still learning a thing or two about the power of these vaccines against the virus, so for now we need to follow all the rules that apply to you and wait to see how the policy changes.