The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t updated its definition of “fully vaccinated” for Covid-19 because the recommendations are about “how well you are protected rather than a definition,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Friday.
“It becomes almost a matter of semantics,” Fauci said.
The CDC is working to “pivot” its language, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing earlier in the day. Fauci said her remarks were about “keeping your vaccination for Covid up to date."
"If I was not vaccinated at all and I got vaccinated tomorrow, two weeks to a month from now, I would be at my optimal degree of protection, and that would be ‘fully vaccinated.’ However, five months later, if I wanted to be up to date, to be optimally vaccinated, I’d want to get the booster," Fauci added.
However, Fauci admitted that the terminology “is obviously confusing people. But one of the things that we’re talking about from a purely public health standpoint is how well you are protected, rather than what a definition is to get someone to be required or not required.”
Fauci also rejected any arguments that the CDC’s refusal to change the definition is about presenting the best vaccination numbers, as more than 63% of the US population is fully vaccinated while only a quarter has gotten booster doses.
“I can tell you categorically that that’s not the motivation for that. That’s not the reason," Fauci said.
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