When Covid enters the house, what do we do?

If a vaccinated child is severely exposed to Covid at home but is still healthy, parents may consider keeping this child at home to protect others. The masks are taken off at noon. But this measure would go beyond federal recommendations, and only one expert I spoke to recommended it.

Should I try to reduce household exposure, even if it seems useless?

As parents know, the term “close contact” takes on a whole new meaning with young children who seem to have the amazing ability to sneeze in your face. However, experts agreed that reducing the other’s exposure to disease is still worth the effort.

There is a small period of time when this is especially important – between exposure and when the immune system begins to fully engage.

Parents need to take care of their children, and some siblings just can’t be separated. However, there are steps you can take. The one who gets sick first should be in his own room, if possible. Put a HEPA filter there, if you have one. Try to get the patient to stay there for food. Wear high quality masks when family members are together.

Open the windows. Install another HEPA filter if you have two where other family members spend their time. Another piece of professional advice: Keep the air at 40 to 60 percent humidity, which helps stop aerosol transmission, Dr. Pirzada said, using a hygrometer or humidifier to measure the level.

Use common sense. Once the air filters are working, the windows are cracked and masks are worn whenever possible; trying harder may seem too much if a young child is sick. “If my child was sick, my natural instinct would be to take care of them,” said Dr. Lincy Marr, a leading expert on viral transmission. “I saw how I raised my hands, relying on the vaccine and my good health, so that I would not get seriously ill and hug my child.

The good news is that once the test is positive, exposure to other family members who are also positive is unlikely to make you sick, experts agreed. And it is unlikely that family members who recover first will be re-infected by those who are still ill.