Story at a glance
- CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency is evaluating its definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated.
- An individual is currently considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving a second dose of either Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID-19 shot or two weeks after the one dose Johnson & Johnson jab.
- Currently, around 61 percent of the eligible U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and nearly 30 percent have received a booster dose.
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, said Monday the agency is evaluating its definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated.
“We’re examining this definition, of course, but what I want to be very clear about is that CDC recommendations for right now say that everyone who is over the age of 18, when they become eligible should get their booster shot,” Walensky told CNBC’s Shepard Smith on Monday.
An individual is currently considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their second dose of either Pfizer or Moderna’s COVID-19 shot or two weeks after the one dose Johnson and & Johnson jab.
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Walenksy’s comments came as agency data revealed the omicron variant of the coronavirus first discovered in South Africa accounts for nearly 73 percent of all new COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
Health officials have said that early evidence suggests the omicron variant causes less severe illness than previous coronavirus strains. Yet data also indicates current vaccines may not completely prevent infections, and Walensky is recommending Americans continue to wear masks and get their vaccines and booster shots.
“What we do know about the Omicron variant that’s got over 50 mutations and because of those mutations, just being vaccinated with two doses may not be enough,” Walensky added. “And so we really do need people to get boosted in order to increase their protection, especially against severe disease and death.”
Currently, around 61 percent of the eligible U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and nearly 30 percent have received a booster dose.
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