What To Do If You Test Positive For Covid – The positive cases of COVID-19 are once again rising in most cities of the United States. Health experts have already declared it the 6th wave of COVID-19, and the president of the United States has also tested positive for the virus.

The United States is being infected with sub-variants of omicron, and the vaccine for COVID-19 is not much effective against the virus. That is why you need to learn what to do if you test positive for COVID. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released several guidelines on a similar situation.

We will take a look at each and everything suggested by the Center for Disease Control and prevention when they test positive for COVID-19.

Isolate Yourself

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest everyone isolate as early as possible when they get tested positive for the virus. The CDC has released a separate set of quarantine and isolation guidelines for people who have tested positive for the virus.

These guidelines are for everyone, and your vaccination status is not going to change. The CDC believes everyone should follow the guidelines regardless of their vaccination status.

• First of all, you should isolate yourself for at least five days when you test positive for COVID-19.
• You should always wear a well-fitting mask whenever you are around others in your home.
• Kindly do not travel anywhere until the 10th day of your symptoms starts or you test positive for the virus.
• Kindly do not meet anyone who is immune compromised and more vulnerable to getting very sick from COVID-19.
• Try not to visit any public places without following full COVID precautions, including masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing.
• In case you do not develop any symptoms whatsoever related to COVID-19, you can end your isolation after five days.
• If you develop any symptoms related to COVID-19 and you can spend 24 hours fever free without using any fever-reducing medicine, then you can also end your isolation after five days.

You can consult your symptoms regarding COVID-19 anytime you want. Most people are getting better from COVID-19 within five to seven days of their exposure to the virus. Still, some people might get very sick from COVID-19, and they might also require hospitalization and medical attention.

Another thing that is very important for you to understand is that there is a probability that you might infect others even if you have ended your isolation after five days. 

Health experts around the world will suggest you keep following all the COVID protocols until the 10th to 15th day of your exposure to the virus. That means you should be using a face mask while you are around your friends and family.

Inform Everyone

Once you have isolated yourself, the second thing you can do is let everyone know in your circle that you have tested positive for the virus.

As per the guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, you should tell your office that you have tested positive for the virus. Your boss will ask everyone in your office to get tested for the same.

Apart from that, you should also tell your friends and family about your being tested positive for the virus. Your friends and their families might also have to get tested for the same.

Currently, the incubation period of COVID-19 is around three days. You can spread the virus to others for three days without developing any symptoms. As a precautionary measure, you can tell everyone you have met in the last three days that you have tested positive for COVID-19.

Seek treatment

Once you have informed everyone in your circle, the next thing you can do is let your doctor know that you have tested positive for the virus.

Both dominating variants of COVID-19 in the United states do not impose much risk of severe illness. People can get better within five to seven days of starting the symptom, but in some cases, people might get severe symptoms and require hospitalization.

People with underlying health conditions and old age people should consult with their doctor as soon as they have tested positive for the virus. 

Your doctor might be able to treat you at home without any hospitalization. Early treatment can also save you from developing severe symptoms of the virus.

Keep an eye on your symptoms.

The next thing you should do is keep an eye on your symptoms. Every health expert in the world will suggest that you keep a record of your symptoms and their severity. Even your healthcare provider will also suggest you do the same. 

You should also keep a thermometer alongside your medication so that you can keep track of your fever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest everyone keep an eye on their symptoms and call 911 or their healthcare provider if the symptoms get worse.

Even though the chances of anyone developing severe symptoms from COVID are pretty low, some chances should not rule out that probability.

Regular COVID Testing

Another thing that is very important for you is to keep yourself testing at regular intervals. Health experts around the world will suggest you to yourself each day in the morning.

You can home COVID tests for regular testing purposes. Even though these tests are not as accurate as RT PCR tests for COVID-19, they can provide high accuracy and faster results. 

People who have not developed any symptoms related to the virus even after testing positive can end their isolation after getting a COVID native test. 

By informing before your visit, you can also visit a nearby public COVID testing facility and get yourself tested with the regular RT PCR test; if you believe you do not have any symptoms related to COVID-19 and here at home, COVID tests keep coming positive. 

Keep following the precautions to save yourself from reinfection.

If you have already tested positive for the virus, this doesn’t mean that you cannot get reinfection. The chances of anyone getting reinfection are low, but there is a probability, and the cases are rising at a rapid speed.

The Centers for Disease Control and prevention, along with the World Health Organization, suggest everyone keep following COVID precautions even if they have successfully recovered from COVID-19. 

There are some cases where people have already received four doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and recovered from the infection, and they still get infected once again.

A recent study on the effects of reinfection concluded that there is a higher probability of anyone developing symptoms related to long COVID if they have reinfection. 

Every time you get infected with COVID-19, you develop more chances of getting severe symptoms of long COVID in the future.

Vaccination guidelines after testing positive for the virus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest everyone get themselves vaccinated or receive the booster shots of the COVID vaccine even if they have tested positive for the virus in the past.

As a precautionary measure, you can wait around 90 days to get vaccinated or receive booster shots after receiving a positive test report of COVID-19. But, that is just a guideline rather than an illegal bounding rule.

Private pharmaceutical companies, including CVS pharmacy and Walgreens pharmacy, will allow you to get vaccinated after 14 days of your exposure to the virus.

If you have successfully recovered from COVID-19 and you do not have any symptoms related to the virus in the last 14 days, then you are eligible to receive booster shots or primary doses of the COVID vaccine from private pharmacies active in the United States.

Even if you check the official website of these pharmacies and try to create an appointment using their appointment scheduler tool, you will find that you can create an appointment if you have successfully recovered from COVID-19 and you do not have any symptoms in the last 14 days.

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