How Long Should Kids Stay Out of School After They've Had COVID?
When the daughter of MedPage Today's editor-in-chief Jeremy Faust, MD, got COVID in September, he strategized how best to prevent spread of the virus while causing the least disruption to her school schedule.
He debated whether the CDC's most recent isolation guidelines -- which recommend resuming activities when symptoms are resolving and you've been fever-free for 24 hours -- went far enough to stop the spread.
You can read his full plan in Inside Medicine, but in the meantime, we asked other healthcare professionals with children how they've been handling return-to-school after their kids had COVID.
Some answers have been lightly edited.
Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH, Your Local Epidemiologist
As a mom to two toddlers, I struggle with this a lot. My girls seem to always be sick with the sniffles. I really only question it if/when they have a fever or are really lethargic (which is rare!) and have them stay home. Sometimes I test for COVID-19, but only if we are going to go to great-grandpa's home or about to go on a trip.
They go back to school if they are feeling better; they either got their energy back, or have no fever. If I test them, they will stay home until they are negative.
