I’m so sorry. I’m glad they are getting good care. Sendings hugs and prayers! Hang in there!
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Day 4 - still negative. Did I dodge this?
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Don’t count your chickens!
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@amvanhoose_701479 - do you know what the recommendation is for testing past exposure? I’ve been testing every day since exposure, I was thinking of testing again tomorrow to make it 5 days, then maybe test one more time on day eight or if I develop symptoms (or obviously if I’m going anywhere where I will be around people). Does that sound reasonable?
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I’m wondering this too. I only found out on day 4, and tested then and day 5. I’m on day 8 today with no symptoms.
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Some ppl have reported testing positive at the 10-14 day mark.
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And when I did have it I didn’t have symptoms till day 11.
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I’ve heard that for pre-Omicron but thought that the incubation period for Omicron was a lot shorter.
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Screenshots and link in post above. Mask for 10 days post-exposure regardless of test results and even if no symptoms.
I would highly recommend a PCR test if possible on Day 5 post-exposure or later. They are much more sensitive and work differently.
In addition, for those who have access to free rapid tests, I would recommend testing every day any of the following applies through Day 10 (basically, anytime you are bending the guidelines or the situation flexes)
- You know you will be around someone unmasked (example, they expect my kids to eat lunch in the cafeteria even if they have been close contacts)
- You know you will be around someone with high risk factors, even if you plan to mask
- You have high risk factors that would qualify you for treatment and make it important to be treated promptly
- If you develop symptoms (and I would probably get an additional PCR at that point if possible as well)
An “exit test” on Day 10 would also be reassuring. (Not foolproof, but much, much lower odds of becoming infectious past that point.)
For those who don’t have easy access to free tests, you may need to be more selective on when you test.
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My understanding is that it’s not the variant as much as our immunity has changed.
https://twitter.com/michaelmina_lab/status/1511569540743933961?s=21&t=Ro6V4rAf7iPCBiIr3wCTTg
Note: Similar for the unvaccinated that have had prior infections.
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Also, here are the highlights from an interview Mina did a couple months ago that takes a deeper dive on the topic of symptom timing.
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I remember the April 2020 Harvard Journal article which said testing and tracing would be the key to opening up the economy, and that by July 2020 the US should ramp up to 20 million rapid tests per day before opening up the economy.
That plan sure fell by the wayside quickly.
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Hmmm…so, the school nurse at my DS15’s HS said if he’s a close contact with no symptoms to test, and rapid was ok, at 5 days past exposure and after that if it was negative to not worry about it. So, this isn’t the right answer? We’ve been following this all year, except that at the start of the year we thought you needed a PCR test so we did that a few times at CVS. She also said he needs to wear a good fitting mask but can go to school and all activities and that’s what we’ve been doing; we never dropped the masks with our kids at school, and we still mask indoors everywhere. For the kids at school it’s been kn95s all year; the adults wear kn95 when out for awhile but for small errands usually double mask with cloth with filters or surgical.
Since y’all are masking anyway, that covers a lot of it and the guidelines don’t suggest any additional testing beyond the once, and they don’t specify type of test. But, you are supposed to monitor for symptoms and avoid anyone with risk factors on Days 6-10. Not sure “Don’t worry about it if negative at Day 5” is 100% aligned to that.
Are they making provisions to keep close contacts separated at lunch when they are unmasked for the full 10 days? If so, they are very closely aligned overall. If not, that sounds like the most significant gap.
Most of the suggestions I made for additional testing were related to places guidance may not be fully followed (ex you are supposed to avoid anyone with risk factors, so if you can’t, mitigate that by testing, or if not separated at lunch or whatnot).
ETA: The additional testing is also helpful if you are trying to reduce risk of other household members being infected. That’s not really the school’s responsibility to worry about in their guidance.
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Since more and more places are entering the latest Omicron surge, here is the most recent booster info from the CDC.
Of note, they came back and clarified the booster recommendation for those who originally received J&J. If you also got J&J for your first booster, you are eligible for a second booster regardless of age. If you originally got J&J and then an mRNA for your first booster, you are only eligible for a second booster if you are over 50 or meet one of the other criteria.
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Third round of free at-home tests from the US government now available. 8 tests this time!
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Thank you for the test order link!
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I wish we could still get them!
It’s day 10 today since I was a close contact. Last night I started with a sore throat. This morning I’ve got swollen glands and congestion. I took a rapid test, and it’s negative. So just a cold or other virus? No cough or temperature.
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