Walensky echoed the sentiments of her colleagues in that they've simply adapted to the latest data on the virus.
"My job right now is to take all the science and the information that we have and to deliver guidance and recommendations to the American people that is adapted to the science at hand," she said. "This pandemic has given us a lot of new and updated science over the last two years, and it is my job to convey that science through those recommendations and that is exactly what we're doing."
Before Tuesday's turnaround on omicron, the CDC cut the length of its recommended quarantine time for COVID patients from 10 days to five. Those who are infected are now instructed to isolate for just five days, followed by five days of wearing a mask around other people.
That update came less than a week after the public health agency relaxed guidance for health care workers who test positive, cutting the isolation period from 10 days to as short as five days if there are staffing shortages.
Walensky also told NBC the CDC's announcement was based on science and human behavior.
"We followed numerous areas of science in making this important decision," she said, saying they particularly researched how the virus "behaves." She added that individuals infected with omicron experience milder symptoms and may not be willing to isolate for a full 10 days.
CDC spokesperson Jasmine Reed said there was "a wide predictive interval posted in last week’s chart" on the new variant, and the agency's revision was due in part to the "speed at which Omicron was increasing."
"CDC’s models have a range, and … we’re still seeing steady increase in the proportion of Omicron," Reed told Fox News Digital. "In some regions in the country, Omicron accounts for [about] 90 percent or more of cases."
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