The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the agency won't update its definition of "fully vaccineed" to include booster shots, but will only consider Americans "up to date" with their Covid-19 vaccinations if they've gotten the booster when eligible.
A sign at a museum requires visitors to be vaccined against Covid-19 in New York City.
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The CDC is changing its language to say that people are up to date with their shots, rather than saying that they are fully vaccined.
Americans will be asked by the CDC to be up to date with their Covid-19 vaccines based on when their last shot was.
Since they are not yet eligible for a booster shot, people who have just received their second vaccine shot are up to date, while people who got their second vaccine more than five months ago are not.
The CDC uses the term "up to date" when it comes to other vaccines, Walensky noted, for instance, people are only up to date on their flu shots when they have received one for the current year.
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53.0%. The percentage of Americans who are eligible for a booster shot but have not yet received one is stated by the CDC. Only 39.3% of Americans have received a booster shot so far, which includes people who aren't yet eligible such as children under 12 and those who got their second shot too recently.
What to watch for.
What implications will the CDC's new guidance have? People are required to be fully vaccined in order to get into public spaces like restaurants, theaters and large events. Some schools and businesses have updated their mandates to require a booster shot, but many are still only asking for two shots. It's not clear if places will continue with the "fully vaccine" criteria or if they will ask people to be up to date with their shots.
The debate over whether boosters should be required to be fully vaccineed has intensified in the wake of surging Covid-19 cases linked to the omicron variant. Two shots of the vaccine are not enough to prevent omicron infections, but the booster appears to provide more protection, though it is still possible. Despite their diminished effectiveness against infections, the vaccines are still effective at preventing illness and death. Walensky and Fauci said over the past several months that the CDC was considering updating its definition of "fully vaccineed" as boosters became available, with Fauci saying in mid-December that "Redefining the term "fully vaccineed" is on the table and open for discussion." Walensky and the White House Covid-19 said the definition was not changing even as they recommended people get a booster shot.
The CDC says that booster is not required to be fully vaccinated.
You need to know how well the vaccine protects you against Omicron.
Will Omicron change if it is fully vaccinated? The CEO of BioNTech says the full vaccine regimen is not 2. (Forbes)
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