The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has changed the definition of fully vaccinated to include only those people with two vaccination shots plus a booster, from the previously recognized two vaccination shots without a booster.
“The message is clear — if you are vaccinated but un-boosted, you need to take the same level of precaution as those who have never been vaccinated,” reported National Review about the new guidance, citing quarantine procedures that lump the un-boosted with the unvaccinated.
“This is not an arbitrary semantic game,” warned National Review, citing vaccine passports and state and local regulations that hinge on CDC definitions. “Biden has issued an executive order, currently being fought in court, that forces larger employers to require employees to either get fully vaccinated or tested regularly.”
One doctor on Twitter warned that “fully vaccinated” wasn’t a medical definition, but rather a political definition.
There is no such thing as being “fully vaccinated” against this virus
That’s a political term, not a medical term
— Brent A. Williams, MD (@BrentAWilliams2) December 27, 2021
Just two weeks ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the CDC’s go-to person on pandemics, said that the definition of fully vaccinated would remain unchanged even if booster gave “optimal” protection, in his opinion.
“COVID booster shots are ‘optimal care’ as the deadly virus continues to mutate and spread, but the U.S. government is staying firm for the time being on the definition of fully vaccinated, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci” said, according to CNBC.
Authorities have given mixed signals about whether they will change the definition of fully vaccinated, with the CDC claiming as late as November that they would not be changing the definition after saying in October that the CDC might look at a change.
“The definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ is one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and two doses of the either Pfizer vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, and we’re not examining changing that definition anytime at this point,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in November according to the Hill.
Then in early December, Walensky reversed course again.
“We are continuing to follow that science and it is literally evolving daily. As that science evolves, we will continue to review the data and update our recommendations as necessary,” Walensky said, according to KOMO News.
It’s more likely that the politics will evolve, not the science.
