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COVID-19 Health Alert #27:
Wisconsin has adopted the updated CDC quarantine guidance for fully vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19
Bureau of Communicable Diseases, February 12, 2021
Summary
- The CDC has issued modified public health recommendations for people who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Provided that certain criteria are met, it is no longer required for vaccinated persons to quarantine following close contact with a person with COVID-19. Because data about the duration of vaccine-induced protection are still accumulating, the duration of quarantine exemption for vaccinated persons is currently limited to the 90 days after receiving the last dose in a vaccine series.
- Wisconsin DHS endorses and supports adoption of this new standard for quarantine guidance, and continues to emphasize that all Wisconsin residents should follow current guidance for stopping the spread of COVID-19, even after they are vaccinated. This includes wearing masks in public, avoiding large gatherings, staying 6 feet away from others, and following all other applicable workplace or school guidance.
- New quarantine exemptions do not apply to patients receiving inpatient care in a healthcare setting or residents of long-term care facilities. Patients and residents in these settings should continue to quarantine for 14 days after the date of last exposure.
Dear Colleagues,
On February 10, 2021, CDC issued updated quarantine guidance for vaccinated persons, specifying that fully vaccinated people who meet certain criteria will no longer be required to quarantine following an exposure to someone with COVID-19.
Specifically, vaccinated people with an exposure to someone with COVID-19 are not required to quarantine if they meet all of the following criteria:
- Are fully vaccinated (i.e., exposure occurs ≥2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series, or ≥2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine)
- Are within 90 days following receipt of the last dose in the series
- Have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure
All people who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 should monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days after the last date of exposure, and should be evaluated clinically and get tested if they develop any symptoms of COVID-19. If vaccinated people do develop symptoms, they should be isolated pending the results of testing, in accordance with current recommendations.
Exceptions to the new quarantine recommendation exist for patients receiving inpatient care in a healthcare setting, and residents of long-term care facilities. Patients and residents in these settings should continue to follow prior guidance requiring quarantine for 14 days after the date of last exposure. This exception is due to the higher risk of severe illness and death among patients in these settings.
Recommended strategies for COVID-19 testing in settings where routine screening occurs (e.g. health care, long-term care, educational, correctional settings, etc.) are not affected by the new quarantine guidance. Organizations should continue to offer testing to patients and residents who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, similar to people who are unvaccinated.
Fully vaccinated healthcare personnel (HCP) with exposure to COVID-19 may be considered exempt from quarantine requirements under the new CDC guidance. Prior DHS guidance for HCP returning to work (HAN #18) and the use of serial testing after exposure to COVID-19 (HAN #22) is now amended in consideration of the new guidance: Serial testing of fully vaccinated HCP during the 14-day incubation period is no longer necessary, provided that the HCP monitors for symptoms and gets tested if any symptoms develop.
While we have strong data from clinical trials showing that both currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines are highly efficacious for preventing symptomatic illness from COVID-19, there is still much to learn about the vaccines’ duration of protection, and the degree of protection against asymptomatic infection and viral transmission. This guidance may be subject to change in the future as more data are collected. The 90-day duration of quarantine exemption is not based on evidence showing that protection substantially wanes after that time; it was rather made out of caution, considering the need for additional research over longer durations of follow-up. Providers should continue to recommend that all eligible patients receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Sincerely,
Ryan Westergaard, MD, PhD, MPH Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist for Communicable Diseases Wisconsin Department of Health Services
About the COVID-19 Health Alert Network
The content of this message is intended for public health and health care personnel and response partners who have a need to know the information to perform their duties. The HAN will be the primary method for sharing time-sensitive public health information with clinical partners during the COVID-19 response. Health care providers and other officials can subscribe and unsubscribe using their preferred email address at the DHS COVID-19 website.
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