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COVID-19 Vaccines
Registered nurse Jen White talks about Covid-19. Mrs. White tells us the difference between isolation and quarantine. She talks about the best practices when exposed to covid or when a positive test has been received.
Featured Speaker:
Jen White, RN
Jen White, RN is a Quality Manager. Transcription:
COVID-19 Vaccines
Scott Webb (Host): Welcome to Stoughton Health Talk. I'm Scott Webb, and many of us have questions the difference between isolating and quarantining if we're exposed to COVID-19 and or we test positive. Joining me today to help answer these questions and more about COVID-19 is Jen White, a Registered Nurse and the Quality Manager at Stoughton.
Jen, thanks so much for your time today. We're going to talk primarily about COVID isolation versus quarantine, and I'm sure folks have some confusion, some questions. So great to have you on. Just have you start here, you know, what is the difference between isolation and quarantine?
Jen White, RN (Guest): Well, based on the CDC guideline for COVID-19, quarantine is a strategy that they use to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by keeping people who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 apart from others. So, in other words, you've been exposed to someone that is infected with COVID-19 and you were in close contact with that person.
Now, when we talk about close contact, that means that you were less than six feet away from that infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24 hour period. Now cumulative time can be pretty confusing for folks out there, but a good example of cumulative time would be, you could have been around three different people that were infected with COVID-19 for five minutes with each person over a 24 hour period. So, that would mean that you were over that 15 minutes and that you would have to go into quarantine. If you find yourself in a situation where you were exposed and in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should stay at home, stay away from others and wear a mask, a well-fitting mask, when you're around others at home during your quarantine time.
Host: Yeah and so let's sort of compare and contrast if you will, what's the difference between quarantine and isolation?
Jen: So the difference between quarantine is that you're in your home, you're staying away from others and you're wearing a mask. Isolation's a little bit different because and the piece that comes in different is that you're still at home. You're staying away from everybody. You are more in a specific sick room or an area that's separate from your family members and that you would primarily try to use a separate bathroom if possible.
And I know that's really difficult in a lot of people's living situations. And if that were the case, if you had to use a shared living space, make sure that everybody in the household is wearing a mask and that you're using really good cleaning techniques, which you can find on the CDC website.
Host: Yeah, that's good information and good to set the stage there because I'm sure there, as you say, there probably is some confusion, especially when we think about the cumulative time, it could be 15 minutes total with one person, or it could be five minutes with three different people. But if it gets to 15 minutes, then that's the time, to strongly consider quarantining. And I want to ask you, what's the current best practice for people who do test positive for COVID-19?
Jen: So, those that test positive, regardless of the vaccination status, you have to isolate. So, that population would be people who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. People with symptoms of COVID-19, including people that are waiting for a test result, so if you have symptoms, you went and got tested; you should still be in isolation until you get that test result back. And then people with symptoms, even if they don't know if they had a close contact with someone with COVID-19, should get tested as well as going into isolation until you get that test result back. And the recommendations when you're in isolation, you stay at home for a full five days. So, CDC just recently updated their recommendations to allow for shorter isolation times based on the new variant that's out there. And so the recommendations you stay at home for five days, you end your isolation. If you're fever free for 24 hours without using any fever reducing medications like Tylenol or ibuprofen.
And then, after you end your isolation, then you could continue to wear a well-fitted mask around others. And you're still at home during this period, or if you have to go in the public, you know, you would definitely want to make sure that you're wearing your mask outside and inside. Avoid travel for a full 10 days after your first day of symptoms.
Now, if there are people out there that are testing positive and they're asymptomatic, you would start from that test date and then do not go into any places where you're unable to wearing a mask, such as like a restaurant or a workout gym, and then avoid eating around others while even while you're at home and at work until the full 10 days from the date of your symptoms or your positive test result, if you're asymptomatic.
Host: Yeah. And just hearing you kind of go through this and I try to stay up to date, obviously, and I interview and have conversations with doctors and nurses regularly about COVID-19, but you can see why folks would be a little, scratching their heads, a little confused. What are the current guidelines?
And so when it comes to best practices, as you mentioned here, the CDC website is a great place, a great resource because they update that probably, you know, minute by minute. Let's talk then now about the best practices for people who've been exposed to COVID-19.
Jen: So those that are not up to date on their vaccines, they would stay at home and away from others for at least five days after the last contact with that positive person and then the date of your last contact is considered as day zero. Your day zero is the date where you begin symptoms or you go into a positive test.
And so that's your day zero. And then you would continue to wear a well-fitted mask when you're around others at home for 10 days from the last date of contact for someone with COVID-19 and then watch for those COVID-19 symptoms. Now, if at any time you start developing symptoms, you would want to immediately isolate yourself and go get a test. Until you get that test result. And then of course, if you test positive, then you would continue to follow those isolation recommendations. Now, if symptoms don't develop, you would get tested at least five days after you had your last close contact with that person that had COVID-19. And then if the test is negative, you would stop your quarantine, but you would continue to wear a mask up to 10 days after your close contact.
And then of course, if you test positive, follow the isolation recommendations. And then some people are not able to get tested. So you can stop your quarantine after day five if you're symptom free throughout that first five days, but of course you would continue to wear a mask up to 10 days.
Host: Yeah, it does seem like it comes back to the symptoms, right? That should be the, you know, kind of a pressure point if you will. Like if you've got symptoms, right. That's an indication that you may have been exposed. You may be positive, right? So you should follow the guidelines for that. And then if you're symptom free for a period of time, as you mentioned, then that's the time to maybe, you know, you can kind of pull back a little bit.
So, great information today. I want to ask you, what's the difference between being vaccinated and unvaccinated when we're exposed to COVID-19?
Jen: So vaccinated and unvaccinated, when we're talking about that, it's up to date means a person has received all the recommendations, vaccine doses, including boosters and any additional primary shots for some of the immunocompromised. So, for some immunocompromised children aged five to 11 years old, the CDC is now recommending an additional dose of Pfizer vaccine to complete that primary series.
So it's a total of three. You know, as far as for the rest of the populations, Pfizer and Moderna would be your two dose series to consider yourself, your primary vaccination. And then once you get into boosters, then you know, anyone for Pfizer over the age of 12 is the recommendation for getting a booster shot. That would be at least five months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccine. And then, 12 to 17 years old, the only one you would be available to get would be the Pfizer. But if you're 18 years old or older, you can get Moderna or Pfizer. That's the recommendation is to stick with those mRNA COVID vaccines.
Now for Moderna, the age is a little bit different as we all know, it's 18 years and older, again at least that five months after completing your primary COVID vaccine. And then again, you can get that Pfizer or Moderna, regardless of what your primary series was. And then for Johnson and Johnson, that's 18 years and older. And that one is just a one dose series. But for your booster, it has to be at least two months after you received the J and J vaccine. And then as far as boosters, they are recommending that you go with the mRNA COVID vaccine, for your booster, but you can do J and J if you wanted to.
Host: Yeah. And you and I were discussing before we got rolling here that, um, daughter just got her booster shot today. She's 14. So I'm feeling good. We're all vaxxed. And boostered, if I can use those as verbs. So, you've just been a wealth of information today. And as we wrap up here, what are your takeaways? Whether it's isolation versus quarantine, or just generally about COVID 19, what would be your takeaways for listeners?
Jen: Just really, you know, use your resources, you know, stay in quarantine for the amount of time. I know it's really difficult to stay in quarantine and isolation. Humans by nature, we are social people. So it is very difficult to kind of be in that quarantine and isolation, but in order to stop the spread, especially with this new variant it's spreading very quickly. And so, you know, we really need to do our part and keep everybody else safe and follow those quarantine and isolation guidelines.
Host: Yeah, that's a great advice. Great way to finish. Is everybody just do their part and you've done your part today. Been a great guest. So thank you so much, Jen. You stay well.
Jen: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Host: For more information on COVID-19 go to Stoughtonhealth.com/covid-nineteen-information.
And that concludes this episode of Stoughton Health Talk. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Stoughton Hospital podcasts. I'm Scott Webb. Stay safe and be well.
COVID-19 Vaccines
Scott Webb (Host): Welcome to Stoughton Health Talk. I'm Scott Webb, and many of us have questions the difference between isolating and quarantining if we're exposed to COVID-19 and or we test positive. Joining me today to help answer these questions and more about COVID-19 is Jen White, a Registered Nurse and the Quality Manager at Stoughton.
Jen, thanks so much for your time today. We're going to talk primarily about COVID isolation versus quarantine, and I'm sure folks have some confusion, some questions. So great to have you on. Just have you start here, you know, what is the difference between isolation and quarantine?
Jen White, RN (Guest): Well, based on the CDC guideline for COVID-19, quarantine is a strategy that they use to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 by keeping people who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 apart from others. So, in other words, you've been exposed to someone that is infected with COVID-19 and you were in close contact with that person.
Now, when we talk about close contact, that means that you were less than six feet away from that infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24 hour period. Now cumulative time can be pretty confusing for folks out there, but a good example of cumulative time would be, you could have been around three different people that were infected with COVID-19 for five minutes with each person over a 24 hour period. So, that would mean that you were over that 15 minutes and that you would have to go into quarantine. If you find yourself in a situation where you were exposed and in close contact with someone with COVID-19, you should stay at home, stay away from others and wear a mask, a well-fitting mask, when you're around others at home during your quarantine time.
Host: Yeah and so let's sort of compare and contrast if you will, what's the difference between quarantine and isolation?
Jen: So the difference between quarantine is that you're in your home, you're staying away from others and you're wearing a mask. Isolation's a little bit different because and the piece that comes in different is that you're still at home. You're staying away from everybody. You are more in a specific sick room or an area that's separate from your family members and that you would primarily try to use a separate bathroom if possible.
And I know that's really difficult in a lot of people's living situations. And if that were the case, if you had to use a shared living space, make sure that everybody in the household is wearing a mask and that you're using really good cleaning techniques, which you can find on the CDC website.
Host: Yeah, that's good information and good to set the stage there because I'm sure there, as you say, there probably is some confusion, especially when we think about the cumulative time, it could be 15 minutes total with one person, or it could be five minutes with three different people. But if it gets to 15 minutes, then that's the time, to strongly consider quarantining. And I want to ask you, what's the current best practice for people who do test positive for COVID-19?
Jen: So, those that test positive, regardless of the vaccination status, you have to isolate. So, that population would be people who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. People with symptoms of COVID-19, including people that are waiting for a test result, so if you have symptoms, you went and got tested; you should still be in isolation until you get that test result back. And then people with symptoms, even if they don't know if they had a close contact with someone with COVID-19, should get tested as well as going into isolation until you get that test result back. And the recommendations when you're in isolation, you stay at home for a full five days. So, CDC just recently updated their recommendations to allow for shorter isolation times based on the new variant that's out there. And so the recommendations you stay at home for five days, you end your isolation. If you're fever free for 24 hours without using any fever reducing medications like Tylenol or ibuprofen.
And then, after you end your isolation, then you could continue to wear a well-fitted mask around others. And you're still at home during this period, or if you have to go in the public, you know, you would definitely want to make sure that you're wearing your mask outside and inside. Avoid travel for a full 10 days after your first day of symptoms.
Now, if there are people out there that are testing positive and they're asymptomatic, you would start from that test date and then do not go into any places where you're unable to wearing a mask, such as like a restaurant or a workout gym, and then avoid eating around others while even while you're at home and at work until the full 10 days from the date of your symptoms or your positive test result, if you're asymptomatic.
Host: Yeah. And just hearing you kind of go through this and I try to stay up to date, obviously, and I interview and have conversations with doctors and nurses regularly about COVID-19, but you can see why folks would be a little, scratching their heads, a little confused. What are the current guidelines?
And so when it comes to best practices, as you mentioned here, the CDC website is a great place, a great resource because they update that probably, you know, minute by minute. Let's talk then now about the best practices for people who've been exposed to COVID-19.
Jen: So those that are not up to date on their vaccines, they would stay at home and away from others for at least five days after the last contact with that positive person and then the date of your last contact is considered as day zero. Your day zero is the date where you begin symptoms or you go into a positive test.
And so that's your day zero. And then you would continue to wear a well-fitted mask when you're around others at home for 10 days from the last date of contact for someone with COVID-19 and then watch for those COVID-19 symptoms. Now, if at any time you start developing symptoms, you would want to immediately isolate yourself and go get a test. Until you get that test result. And then of course, if you test positive, then you would continue to follow those isolation recommendations. Now, if symptoms don't develop, you would get tested at least five days after you had your last close contact with that person that had COVID-19. And then if the test is negative, you would stop your quarantine, but you would continue to wear a mask up to 10 days after your close contact.
And then of course, if you test positive, follow the isolation recommendations. And then some people are not able to get tested. So you can stop your quarantine after day five if you're symptom free throughout that first five days, but of course you would continue to wear a mask up to 10 days.
Host: Yeah, it does seem like it comes back to the symptoms, right? That should be the, you know, kind of a pressure point if you will. Like if you've got symptoms, right. That's an indication that you may have been exposed. You may be positive, right? So you should follow the guidelines for that. And then if you're symptom free for a period of time, as you mentioned, then that's the time to maybe, you know, you can kind of pull back a little bit.
So, great information today. I want to ask you, what's the difference between being vaccinated and unvaccinated when we're exposed to COVID-19?
Jen: So vaccinated and unvaccinated, when we're talking about that, it's up to date means a person has received all the recommendations, vaccine doses, including boosters and any additional primary shots for some of the immunocompromised. So, for some immunocompromised children aged five to 11 years old, the CDC is now recommending an additional dose of Pfizer vaccine to complete that primary series.
So it's a total of three. You know, as far as for the rest of the populations, Pfizer and Moderna would be your two dose series to consider yourself, your primary vaccination. And then once you get into boosters, then you know, anyone for Pfizer over the age of 12 is the recommendation for getting a booster shot. That would be at least five months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccine. And then, 12 to 17 years old, the only one you would be available to get would be the Pfizer. But if you're 18 years old or older, you can get Moderna or Pfizer. That's the recommendation is to stick with those mRNA COVID vaccines.
Now for Moderna, the age is a little bit different as we all know, it's 18 years and older, again at least that five months after completing your primary COVID vaccine. And then again, you can get that Pfizer or Moderna, regardless of what your primary series was. And then for Johnson and Johnson, that's 18 years and older. And that one is just a one dose series. But for your booster, it has to be at least two months after you received the J and J vaccine. And then as far as boosters, they are recommending that you go with the mRNA COVID vaccine, for your booster, but you can do J and J if you wanted to.
Host: Yeah. And you and I were discussing before we got rolling here that, um, daughter just got her booster shot today. She's 14. So I'm feeling good. We're all vaxxed. And boostered, if I can use those as verbs. So, you've just been a wealth of information today. And as we wrap up here, what are your takeaways? Whether it's isolation versus quarantine, or just generally about COVID 19, what would be your takeaways for listeners?
Jen: Just really, you know, use your resources, you know, stay in quarantine for the amount of time. I know it's really difficult to stay in quarantine and isolation. Humans by nature, we are social people. So it is very difficult to kind of be in that quarantine and isolation, but in order to stop the spread, especially with this new variant it's spreading very quickly. And so, you know, we really need to do our part and keep everybody else safe and follow those quarantine and isolation guidelines.
Host: Yeah, that's a great advice. Great way to finish. Is everybody just do their part and you've done your part today. Been a great guest. So thank you so much, Jen. You stay well.
Jen: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
Host: For more information on COVID-19 go to Stoughtonhealth.com/covid-nineteen-information.
And that concludes this episode of Stoughton Health Talk. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Stoughton Hospital podcasts. I'm Scott Webb. Stay safe and be well.