STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It didn't take long for the omicron variant to become the dominant strain of COVID-19.
In just a few weeks a surge in cases and hospitalizations nationwide.
Just before the new year, the CDC updated guidance for health care workers who are exposed or test positive for the virus.
Those who are asymptomatic can go back to work after seven days with a negative test. Isolation time can be cut further if there are staffing shortages.
Dr. Jeffrey Jahre is an Infectious Disease specialist at St. Luke's University Health Network. He respects what the CDC is doing but says this is not a "one size fits all situation."
"We understand what our situation is on the ground and we understand what we actually need, and we do feel that we can communicate much better with our employees without using some script that comes from the CDC that has to cover a lot of different territories," said Dr. Jahre.
The updated guidance goes on to say health care workers who have received all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses, including a booster, do not need to quarantine at home following high-risk exposures.
"We are not going to bring back people who are going to be posing a risk to our patients. By the same token, we also have to be very practically minded in how we go about doing this. We know that the recommendation by the CDC is not that at all, and they are very confusing," said Dr. Jahre.
Dr. Jahre says the network follows its own guidance if and when health care workers are exposed or test positive. Workers get sent home for a few days.
"Anyone who is going to return and truly is asymptomatic and they can get a rapid antigen test that would help endorse the fact that they won't be very transmissible, but to do that before day five is not valid. The other important thing is that when these people come back, it doesn't mean they are totally home free, that for at least the next five days, we have to make certain that they wear the proper mask at all times and don't get into congregate settings while they are eating," said Dr. Jahre.
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