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US Considers Shortening COVID-19 Isolation After Potential Exposure

VOA News

   The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering
   reducing the recommended self-quarantine period for people who may have
   been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

   Current guidelines recommend people isolate for 14 days in that
   situation, but an official said Tuesday the period could be shortened
   an unspecified amount if a person tests negative during the isolation
   period.

   The U.S. government is also working on its plan to quickly distribute
   the first round of coronavirus vaccines, should they receive regulatory
   approval.

   General Gustave Perna, chief operations officer for the government's
   Operation Warp Speed, told reporters Tuesday that 40 million doses of
   vaccine made by two manufacturers would be available by the end of
   December.

   The Food and Drug Administration is due to decide December 10 whether
   to give emergency approval to Pfizer's vaccine, while Moderna is
   expected to apply for approval soon. Both companies have released
   preliminary results from trials showing their vaccinesappear to
   beeffective.

   The government told states and territories last week how many doses of
   vaccine they will be allocated in the initial rounds, and it plans to
   issue further recommendations as to who should be prioritized for
   receiving the vaccine first. Health care workers are expected to be a
   focus of the first round of vaccines, and officials have said it could
   be April by the time a vaccine is available to everyone in the United
   States.

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