White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr Anthony Fauci has announced that the US government is considering changing the definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
During a meeting hosted by the National Institutes of Health, Fauci said: “We’re using the terminology now ‘keeping your vaccinations up to date,’ rather than what ‘fully vaccinated’ means.”
He added that keeping vaccinations up to date meant receiving a third booster shot of an mRNA Covid-19 jab, or a second shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The announcement was made in response to Israel’s changes to the definition of “fully vaccinated.” The country revealed that they were planning to update the definition to consist of people who have received two Covid-19 vaccine booster shots. Fauci said that the durability of a third shot needs to be observed closely before a fourth jab is considered.
Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), contradicted Fauci by stating that the definition of “fully vaccinated” has not really changed. Nordlund said: “The technical definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ – two doses of an mRNA vaccine or one dose of the J&J vaccine – has not changed. Individuals are considered fully vaccinated once they have received their primary series.”
Jeff Zients, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, confirmed Nordlund’s statement. He said: “Someone is considered fully vaccinated if they receive their primary series of vaccines. That has not changed and we do not have any plans to change that.”
Fauci’s plans came after the CDC recommended that people take the vaccine booster shot made by Pfizer five months after taking the first two doses, which is one month earlier than the agency previously recommended.
