Friday, Mar. 1, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new guidance that changes recommendations for people who test positive for COVID-19. The CDC recommends following these protocols for the flu, RSV, and other respiratory diseases.
- When people get sick with a respiratory virus, they should stay home and away from others.
- They can resume normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, symptoms are improving overall, and if a fever was present, it has been gone without use of a fever-reducing medication. (This changes previous guidance to stay home for five days after testing positive.)
- Once people resume normal activities, they are encouraged to take additional prevention strategies for the next 5 days to curb disease spread, such as enhancing hygiene practices, wearing a well-fitting mask, keeping a distance from others, and/or getting tested for respiratory viruses.
- Enhanced precautions are especially important to protect those most at risk for severe illness, including those over 65 and people with weakened immune systems.
- All people ages 65 years and older should receive 1 additional dose of any updated (2023–2024 Formula) COVID-19 vaccine (i.e., Moderna, Novavax, Pfizer-BioNTech).
The CDC made the new recommendations in light of fewer hospitalizations and deaths associated with COVID, and because of highly effective vaccines for flu, COVID, and RSV. Tryon still highly recommends that patients and their families stay up-to-date with yearly vaccines!