Rubio Warns of Worsening Labor Shortages, Urges CDC to Update Isolation Guidance for Vaccinated

Press Release

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regarding the agency's outdated isolation guidance for fully vaccinated individuals. The letter calls on the CDC to update its isolation guidelines by shortening the 10-day isolation period for those people who are asymptomatic and who test negative for COVID-19. This successful model is already being implemented at several universities to encourage students to get tested and vaccinated, and to help them resume their studies as quickly and safely as possible.

"The risk [from Omicron] is that millions of fully vaccinated people will now become infected in the weeks ahead, effectively crippling America's workforce," Rubio wrote. "Unfortunately, the CDC seems committed to making things worse. Its outdated isolation guidance -- unchanged since 2020 -- instructs asymptomatic individuals to self-isolate for at least 10 days after testing positive even if they are fully vaccinated and produce a negative test result."

"It makes absolutely no sense that the CDC has not updated its isolation guidance despite the widespread availability of vaccines and reliable rapid testing," Rubio continued. "The agency fails to take into account someone's vaccination status, severity of symptoms, and negative test result to shorten the period of isolation. This will lead people with mild or non-existent symptoms to simply refuse testing to avoid a 10-day isolation period."

"It is time that the CDC take similar steps to update its isolation guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals by shortening the 10-day isolation period for those who are asymptomatic and who test negative," Rubio urged.

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