The Summer COVID Wave: What to Know About the CDC’s Current Guidance

Summer 2024 is still under a COVID balloon, with rising case numbers reflected in relatively high waste water data. Specifically, the “K” subvariants including K.3 and K.3.1.1 (still descendants of omicron) are making up the bulk of current cases.

While COVID is still spreading among us, and the bottom-line advice on what to do when you feel sick hasn’t changed, some guidance has shifted since the virus was at its peak spread and considered a public health emergency. Here’s what the CDC says to do if you’re sick and when we can expect a new vaccine. Also, read more about where you can still get a free COVID test. 

Do I need to isolate if I test positive for COVID? 

The CDC’s new guidance is focused on what to do while you have symptoms or feel sick, rather than a COVID test result. 

But because treatment depends on which virus you have, it’s recommended you test and seek medical care if you’re at a higher risk of any respiratory virus, including complications from COVID, flu or RSV.

If you’re an adult in your 50s and up, or if you have a chronic condition like heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes or something else, you’re likely eligible for an antiviral medication (including Paxlovid) that will lessen the severity of the disease and reduce your risk of hospitalization. You can get it by calling your regular primary care doctor or pharmacist or by finding a Test to Treat center, where people who have Medicare, Medicaid, people who are uninsured and those with VA insurance or receiving Indian Health Services can get free COVID-19 testing and treatment. It’s important you go in for the antiviral within the first few days of symptoms for the medication to work. 

For everyone who has COVID, or suspects they might, the CDC says to follow its general guidance for preventing spread of respiratory viruses when you’re sick. This includes staying home and away from others when you feel sick, whether or not you test.

You can “go back to your normal activities,” the CDC says, as long as it’s been 24 hours since your symptoms started improving overall and as long as it’s been 24 hours since you’ve had a fever (and you haven’t taken fever-reducing medicine, like ibuprofen, to get it down). Then, take additional precautions for five days after you improve, which may include wearing a mask or holding off being near people who are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID or other respiratory viruses.

This is a turn away from pandemic-era guidelines that were more specific about when to isolate, and for how long, following an exposure to COVID-19 or a positive test result, rather than symptoms. But it follows the same general infectious-disease principle: stay home when you’re feeling sick or when you have symptoms that may be COVID, regardless of whether a test turned positive, to avoid spreading any virus to someone who may get really sick from it. 

When will the next COVID vaccine be available? 

Within the last year or so, COVID vaccines have started to take the path of annual flu vaccines, with formulas being updated each year to target whatever strain of virus is circulating. A new vaccine targeting a newer lineage of COVID is expected to roll out this fall, according to information from the Food and Drug Administration. 

In the meantime, you can make sure you’re up to date on your COVID boosters or vaccines, with guidance varying based on age and whether you’re immunocompromised. If you’re unsure on whether you need another shot right now, contact your doctor or pharmacist. The cost of COVID vaccines are no longer being covered by the federal government. The Bridge Access Program provides COVID vaccines for free to people without health insurance, though it’s slated to end in August 2024.