Federal health officials are considering restricting the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include only those that have received a booster shot in addition to their COVIID-19 vaccination.
The change would come as U.S. officials push Americans to receive the booster shot, according to The New York Times. Some experts warn that changing the definition could have severe economic repercussions as businesses and governments adjust their COVID-19 restrictions to include a new meaning of “fully vaccinated.” As the Times reports:
Changing the definition of “fully vaccinated” could leave roughly 140 million Americans, who are vaccinated but not boosted, in limbo about where they stand and what they are eligible to do.
Many schools, businesses, governments and other institutions have relied on the C.D.C.’s definition of “fully vaccinated” to establish mandates, requiring people to complete their primary vaccine series in order to attend school, dine out or remain employed.
The Biden administration is also weighing whether to change the definition to use the more adaptable wording of “up-to-date,” which would allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to potentially include additional shots into the meaning the “fully vaccinated” without changing the strict definition of the term.
“The administration was leaning toward making such a move soon, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions,” the Times reported.
Dr. Philip R. Krause, who retired from the Food and Drug Administration last week, said that redefining the meaning of “fully vaccinated” is a “distraction” from the identifying those in need of additional vaccine doses.
“The place where the risk is highest — among the elderly, the immunocompromised, people with comorbidities — those are the people accounting for almost all of the severe disease among the vaccinated,” he told the Times. “We should be concentrating on finding those people.”
Dr. Marty Makary of Johns Hopkins University predicted earlier this month that the Biden administration would change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include a booster shot, in contravention of key data points showing that many, particularly young and healthy people, do not need a booster shot. As The Daily Wire reported:
The surgeon said that for middle-aged Americans who received the J&J one-shot vaccine, another dose is likely needed if someone has not yet had COVID-19 and gained natural immunity. For the young, however, “there’s absolutely no evidence” supporting getting a booster shot, Makary said.
“My fear is that pharma may be calling the shots right now, not the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Makary said. “They’ve not only convinced the CDC to make a vigorous recommendation for every 16 and 17-year-old to get boosted, but colleges are now drawing up plans to require a booster among students.”
“Nothing is more insane and anti-science than requiring young, low-risk, healthy students who had COVID already to get a booster shot, and there will be unintended harm from that indiscriminate booster recommendation,” he added.