Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, predicted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include booster shots.
“I think at some point they’re going to, but not this year,” Gottlieb told CBS News when asked whether the CDC should say Americans need booster shots to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I think eventually this will be considered the three-dose vaccine,” he continued. “But I would be hard pressed to believe CDC is going to make that recommendation any time soon, in part because of this debate about whether or not younger people who are less risk should be receiving that third dose in states where governors are looking to do this, and I think some local communities will do it.”
The CDC recently expanded approval for booster shots for all American adults, which has led several health officials, including coronavirus czar Anthony Fauci, to suggest the guidance on vaccination might change.
“A booster isn’t an add-on, and a booster is a part of what the original regimen should be. So that when we look back on this, we’re going to see that boosters are essential for an optimal vaccine regimen,” Fauci said during the 2021 STAT Summit.
However, when pressed on whether the definition of “fully vaccinated” will change, Fauci refused to say whether booster shots would be necessary.
“We’re going to see what the durability of that protection is, and as we always do, you just follow and let the data guide your policy and let the data guide your recommendations,” he told ABC News this weekend.
In another interview with CNN, Fauci added: “People should not be put off by the fact that as time goes by and we learn more and more about the protection, that we might modify the guidelines,” he explained. “That’s what we’ve been saying all along by ‘follow the science.’ Things change, and you have to follow the data.”
