ADH New Policy on Quarantine After Full Vaccination
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) has recently adopted new guidelines concerning the need for fully vaccinated persons to quarantine if exposed to a person known to have COVID-19.
Vaccinated persons with an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 are not required to quarantine if they meet all of the following criteria:
- Are fully vaccinated (i.e., ≥2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series, or ≥2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine).
- Are within 3 months following receipt of the last dose in the series.
- Have remained asymptomatic since the current COVID-19 exposure.
Persons who do not meet all 3 of the above criteria should continue to follow current quarantine requirements after exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. These quarantine recommendations for vaccinated persons, including the criteria for timing since receipt of the last dose in the vaccination series, will be updated when more data become available and additional COVID-19 vaccines are authorized.
Fully vaccinated persons who do not quarantine should still watch for
symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days following an exposure. If they experience symptoms, they should be clinically evaluated for COVID-19, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, if indicated.
Also, vaccinated persons should continue to follow current guidance to protect themselves and others, including wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds, avoiding poorly ventilated spaces, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands often, following CDC travel guidance, and following any applicable workplace or school guidance, including guidance related to personal protective equipment use or SARS-CoV-2 testing.
These guidelines do not apply to residents of long-term care facilities or inmates of correctional facilities (as discussed in the “Vaccinated healthcare personnel, patients, and residents in healthcare settings” here). Continue to follow previous guidance for these facilities.
The CDC guidance on which this change was based can be found
here.
