IF YOU ARE FULLY VACCINATED
CDC has updated its guidance for people who are fully vaccinated. See Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.
IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR SCHOOLS
CDC recommends schools continue to use the current COVID-19 prevention strategies for the 2020-2021 school year. Learn more
Important update: Healthcare facilities
CDC has updated select ways to operate healthcare systems effectively in response to COVID-19 vaccination. Learn more
UPDATE
Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. Unvaccinated people should get vaccinated and continue masking until they are fully vaccinated. With the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever. CDC has updated guidance for fully vaccinated people based on new evidence on the Delta variant.
UPDATE
Given new evidence on the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant, CDC has updated the guidance for fully vaccinated people. CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place.

Clinical Care Quick Reference for COVID-19

Clinical Care Quick Reference for COVID-19
Updated May 17, 2021
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This quick reference highlights key COVID-19 Clinical Care information for healthcare providers and provides selected links to full guidance and research for easier CDC web navigation.

band aid light iconCOVID-19 Vaccination: Clinical Resources

QUICK REFERENCE

Caring for Patients

  • Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting or diarrhea, and skin rashes.
  • Some patients with COVID-19 may progress to dyspnea and severe disease about one week after symptom onset.
  • Clinicians who wish to consider the use of therapeutics, or other available investigational therapies, should review the COVID-19 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Treatment Guidelines.

MORE DETAILS

QUICK REFERENCE

Ending Isolation

  • For most adults, isolation and precautions can be discontinued 10 days after symptom onset and after resolution of fever for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and with improvement of other symptoms.
  • For adults who never develop symptoms, isolation and other precautions can be discontinued 10 days after the date of their first positive RT-PCR test result for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.
  • Some severely immunocompromised persons with COVID-19 may remain infectious beyond 20 days after their symptoms began and require additional SARS-CoV-2 testing and consultation with infectious diseases specialists and infection control experts.

MORE DETAILS

QUICK REFERENCE

Reinfection

  • Confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection requires confirmation of initial infection and virus detection at two distinct time periods with genetic sequencing data that support reinfection.
  • A toolkit and criteria have been developed to support state and local health departments investigations of suspected cases of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection.

REINFECTION TOOLKIT

QUICK REFERENCE

People at Increased Risk of Severe Illness

  • Adults of any age with any of the underlying medical conditions on CDC’s evidence-based list can be more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19.
  • Older adults are at highest risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
  • Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put various groups of people at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19.
  • CDC highlights key findings from large cohort studies that examines risk factors and comorbidities associated with COVID-19 deaths.

MORE DETAILS

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Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS)

  • Multisystem inflammatory syndrome is a rare but serious complication associated with COVID-19 in which multiple organ systems become inflamed.
  • MIS can affect children and adolescents (MIS-C) and adults (MIS-A).
  • The MIS-C healthcare provider page provides information on clinical presentation, case definition of MIS-C, case report form (CRF), and more resources about MIS-C.
  • CDC has developed a MIS-A case definition for healthcare providers.

MORE DETAILS

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Post-COVID Conditions

  • Post-COVID conditions describe a range of new, returning, or ongoing health issues that persist four or more weeks after first being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, sometimes after initial symptom recovery.
  • New or ongoing symptoms can occur in people who had varying degrees of illness during acute infection, including patients who had mild or asymptomatic infections.
  • Medical and research communities are still learning about post-acute symptoms and clinical findings.

Get more details: Evaluating and Caring for Patients with Post-COVID Conditions

QUICK REFERENCE

Caring for Special Populations

  • Pregnant and recently pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 and might be at increased risk for some adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth. CDC provides considerations for healthcare facilities providing obstetric care for pregnant patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
  • CDC provides information for breastfeeding people and their infants on isolation and quarantine practices, as well as considerations for well-child visits and lactation services.
  • For healthcare providers caring for neonates, CDC provides information on diagnosis, evaluation, infection prevention and control practices, and disposition.
  • For healthcare providers caring for children, CDC provides information about caring for children with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 during the pandemic.

MORE DETAILS