While acknowledging that the U.S. is still in a pandemic, the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) this afternoon announced revised guidance related to COVID-19.

“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” said Greta Massetti, PhD, MPH, MMWR, in a CDC statement.

“We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools—like vaccination, boosters, and treatments—to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19,” said Massetti. “We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation.”

New CDC Covid Guidance

The CDC has updated its guidance here. This update includes information on the importance of staying up to date on vaccinations; advice on when and how long to isolate if a COVID-19 test is positive; and when to wear a high-quality mask.

“This updated guidance is intended to apply to community settings,” said a CDC statement. “In the coming weeks CDC will work to align stand-alone guidance documents, such as those for healthcare settings, congregate settings at higher risk of transmission, and travel, with today’s update.”

In the U.S., more than 1 million people have died from COVID-19 since it surfaced in early 2020. As of Aug. 11, 2022, in the U.S. over 60,000 new cases of COVID-19 are diagnosed each day, more than 400 people die from COVID-19 daily, and 40,000-plus people are hospitalized with the virus every day. The CDC currently ranks COVID-19 as the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer and just above all accidents combined. According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report, up to 23 million Americans had experienced symptoms of long COVID, including loss of taste or smell, brain fog, fatigue, breathing problems and more, back when the report was published in March 2022,

[MASSAGE Magazine wants to know what you think of the CDC’s new guidance related to COVID-19. What steps do you take in your massage practice to keep yourself and your clients safe? Will those steps change due to this new guidance? Send an email to edit@massagemag.com – thank you.]

About the Author

Karen Menehan is MASSAGE Magazine’s editor in chief – print and digital. She has reported or edited freelance for On the Wing and Imagine magazines, LIVESTRONG, and the Sacramento Bee and Mid-County Post newspapers. Her COVID-19 reporting for this publication includes “As Clients Return, Massage Therapists Vanquish Touch Deprivation” and “Top 5 Current COVID-19 Safety Strategies.”