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'Fully vaccinated' for COVID: CDC needs to revise its definition, health experts say - CNET
Jan 18, 2022 2 mins, 36 secs

"Fully vaccinated" still just means two shots of an mRNA vaccine from Moderna or Pfizer, or one of Johnson & Johnson's shots, according to the CDC.

Dorry Segev, professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the year-old standard of the primary two shots of an mRNA vaccine or one of Johnson & Johnson's "has not aged well.".

Segev urged the agency to add booster shots to its definition of fully vaccinated.

"To put it more bluntly, someone whose last dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was over five months ago should no longer be considered 'fully vaccinated' and is likely no longer protected enough to be around strangers indoors.".

For more, here's the latest on the Moderna booster shots, what you need to know about the Pfizer antiviral pill and how to pick between the vaccine boosters.

According to the CDC, you're fully vaccinated two weeks after you receive your second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or two weeks after a single dose of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

Though that official definition of "fully vaccinated" isn't likely to change, Fauci has said three shots should be considered the new baseline -- part of the primary series of vaccinations rather than a "booster.".

As preliminary studies show omicron's ability to infect those who are considered fully vaccinated, the definition began shifting -- if not formally, then practically -- from two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to three?

"I think we will stop calling people with two shots 'fully vaccinated' within a week or two," Wachter added.

The US Food and Drug Administration expanded the authorization of boosters to include everyone 12 and older at least five months after receiving a second dose of the mRNA vaccines, or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

If two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are not enough to guard against omicron, would we need a variant-specific booster to restore protection.

But getting people to upgrade from two doses to three will take additional effort: The CDC website says almost 209 million Americans right now are "fully vaccinated" with the Moderna, Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

If you got one of the mRNA vaccines from Moderna or Pfizer, the CDC says you should get a booster at least five months after your second dose

The CDC website indicates "optimal" protection after receiving a second shot of the one-dose J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at least two months after the first

Last year, the agency recommended Moderna or Pfizer's mRNA vaccines over Johnson & Johnson's viral-vector shot, citing a rare but dangerous blood-clot side effect

But a booster of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine provides strong protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 -- stronger, even, than Pfizer's jab -- according to new research. 

A separate study by Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found a J&J booster given to individuals who were initially given two doses of Pfizer's mRNA vaccine generated a 41-fold increase in antibody response within a month, compared with only a 17-fold increase when given a booster of the Pfizer vaccine

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