Updates from the Winnebago County Health Department
Winnebago County Public Health Department
COVID-19 Updates for Healthcare Providers,
First Responders & Long-Term Care Facilities
March 15, 2021
Testing numbers are continuing to decrease while case rates remain high. It is vital testing is encouraged any time there is close contact whether symptoms are present or not. Any respiratory illness should be a suspected COVID-19 case. Most PCR results are returned within 24-36 hours.
Winnebago County recommends testing for pediatric patients consistent with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP recommends children be tested if they were in close contact with someone with COVID-19, or if they have symptoms of COVID-19. Testing helps improve recommendations for quarantine and isolation times and may shorten quarantine times for families. In fact, there is a 90 day exemption for anyone who tests positive if the individual meets certain requirements. The 90 day exemption only applies if the person had 1) a positive PCR test, or 2) Had a positive antigen test and was symptomatic at the time, and 3) As long as they remain asymptomatic throughout the 14 day monitoring period. Given that there are other viruses and conditions that may cause COVID like symptoms, the 90 day exemption does not apply if the child is not tested and is only presumed positive due to symptoms or exposure.
The FDA announced it is allowing undiluted frozen vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to be transported and stored at conventional temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks. This reflects an alternative to the preferred storage of the undiluted vials in an ultra-low temperature freezer between -80ºC to -60ºC (-112ºF to -76ºF).
Department of Health Services Updates:
DHS has adopted CDC’s Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. People who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, meaning it has been two weeks or longer since they have finished their vaccine series, can engage in some social situations. These include:
Visiting with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
Visiting with unvaccinated people from a single household who are all at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease, indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
Refraining from quarantine and testing following a known exposure, if asymptomatic.
