How to Assess Your Covid-19 Risks As Guidelines Ease

What will happen in twenty years to those who got sick with mild Covid-19 and have slightly damaged brain and heart tissue? No one knows because twenty years did not pass yet.

"The easing of federal Covid-19 guidelines places responsibility ever more squarely on individuals to determine their own risk tolerance and behaviors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped a recommendation to quarantine after Covid exposure regardless of vaccination status and de-emphasized social distancing. The new guidelines largely mirror what much of the U.S. population has already been doing as vaccines, prior infection and treatments have reduced the risk of severe disease even as the virus continues to circulate at high levels in much of the country.

Many employers hope the move will boost their return-to-work pushes. Many U.S. schools and colleges had already been eliminating Covid protocols as they prepare for students to return in the fall.

Yet people with weakened immune systems and other health complications can still face higher risks, while healthy people still often have higher-risk loved ones they want to protect.

The longer-term symptoms associated with long Covid such as brain fog and extreme fatigue can develop after even a mild infection. And the average case of Covid can still make otherwise healthy people feel pretty lousy.

"We are in that phase of the pandemic where every individual has to sit down and look at their risks and decide for themselves what is the right thing for them," says Abhijit Duggal, a pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

So how should you make decisions now as you go about your life? Here is what doctors advise.

Determine your risk profile

You don't have to be a transplant recipient or cancer patient to warrant continuing to take some precautions, including masking indoors. For example, a person who is pregnant or has asthma might want to continue being more careful, says Natasha Bhuyan, a Phoenix-based primary-care physician and regional medical director at One Medical.

Donald Wight, 60 years old, who has prostate cancer, says he has found the changing CDC guidelines confusing. He says he still plans to take the same precautions that he did before the guidelines eased.

"I'm still going to wear my mask, I'm still going to keep away from people, and my family is the same way because they know about my situation," says Mr. Wight, who lives in Springfield, Mass.

Many healthy, vaccinated people don't worry much about severe Covid, but some do have concerns about longer-term symptoms. The best way to prevent long Covid is to avoid being infected in the first place, so it makes sense for them to take precautions such as masking indoors, doctors say.

For people who face lower risks and are less concerned about longer-term complications, the value of getting back to normal might be paramount. Many parents have welcomed schools' relaxation of strict precautions over the past year.

Kristen Magnuson, 48, who lives in Bellevue, Wash., and has two children in high school and college, welcomed the CDC's move to ease quarantine guidelines.

"I'm not a fan of keeping kids home when they're healthy just because they were exposed," she says. "It is a bit of a relief."

Identify precautions you are willing and able to take

If you aren't sure what precautions to take, it never hurts to err on the side of caution, says Jonathan Grein, director of hospital epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

"You never know who you're going to be standing next to and what their risk factors are," he says.

The CDC no longer recommends testing asymptomatic people for the virus in most settings, which will likely come as a relief to schools and businesses that were implementing test-to-stay programs.

Despite the new guidelines, some doctors, including Dr. Bhuyan, still encourage patients to test regularly, especially before large indoor events.

There are plenty of other precautions that the CDC continues to recommend. People who have been exposed to Covid should still make sure they don't feel sick, get tested after five days and wear a high-quality mask around others for 10 days, the agency says.

The CDC also still recommends isolating for at least five days if you test positive for Covid. The agency advises that everyone wear a mask in indoor public spaces in areas designated as having high community levels. And it still recommends that people wear masks on public transportation, around high-risk contacts or if they have been exposed to the virus.

Be transparent with others

Your risk tolerance might not match that of your friend or neighbor. Health providers recommend communicating openly with the people in your circle to give them the opportunity to make their own informed decisions.

If you are planning to gather with people who are immunocompromised or at higher risk for severe disease, doctors say it is a good idea to consult with them about their comfort levels.

"If I was going to be going to dinner and I knew that people at the dinner party were particularly vulnerable, I would certainly think twice about it if I knew I had been exposed," says Dr. Grein.

Kristin Green, 55, a high-school English teacher in Orange County, N.Y., says she no longer wears a mask in public and hasn't for a while, but respects those who choose to do so. While attending a recent outdoor Billy Joel concert, she says, she noticed several audience members nearby wearing masks.

"I look at it as, I don't know other people's health situations, I don't know their private issues, so I'm going to be courteous," she says." [1]

1.  How to Assess Your Covid-19 Risks As Guidelines Ease
Janin, Alex. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 16 Aug 2022: A.9.