Fauci says the vast majority ofAmericans should get a COVID booster shot and that the definition of fully vaccinated could change to three doses of Pfizer or Moderna and two doses of Johnson & Johnson
The nation's top infectious disease expert says most Americans should get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot and that the definition of being 'fully vaccinated' against the virus could change
Currently, anyone who has received both shots of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, is considered fully vaccinated.
But in an interview on Tuesday for the upcoming Reuters Next conference, Dr Anthony Fauci an additional dose could eventually become the country's standard for determining who is fully vaccinated.
Fauci and other disease experts have said they expect COVID-19 will transition this spring from a pandemic to an endemic disease, meaning always present in the population but circulating at low levels.
However, some are expressing new concern over a rise in U.S. infections in recent weeks, a trend that is likely to accelerate as more Americans travel and gather for Thanksgiving this week and other upcoming holidays.
Dr Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that the definition of 'fully vaccinated' against COVID-19 could change to include booster shots. Pictured: Fauci speaks to CBS News, November 14
This means someone would be considered fully vaccinated with three shots of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna and two shots of Johnson & Johnson. As of Tuesday, 36.6 million Americans have received a booster sho
'We'd like to get as many people who were originally vaccinated with the first regimen boosted,' Fauci told Reuters.
Asked to quantify, he said, the 'overwhelming majority' of Americans who have been fully vaccinated should now receive a COVID-19 booster shot based on data showing they provide 'substantial' protection beyond what is seen from the original inoculation.
As of Tuesday evening, about 36.6 million Americans have received a booster dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The government recently expanded eligibility for an additional shot to all U.S. adults.
Studies from Israel and other countries have shown that vaccine protection wanes over time.
A recent study from the Public Health Institute in Oakland, California, found that the overall effectiveness of the three Covid vaccines available in the U.S fell from 87 percent in March to 48 percent by September.
The Moderna jab was the most effective, but still fell with the risk of infection being reduced from 89 percent to 58 percent.
The Pfizer shot's efficacy decline from 87 percent protection to 43 percent and the J&J shot saw a drop from 83 percent to 13 percent.
While data first suggested that was mostly a problem in the elderly, there is newer evidence that it occurs among all age groups, Fauci said.
'That's the reason why we're very keen on getting as many people who are originally vaccinated to get a booster...because they really do work,' he said.
Fauci says this is because evidence suggests that immunity against infection given by the initial shots against infection wanes over time. Pictured: Safeway pharmacist Shahrzad Khoobyari (;eft) administers a Pfizer COVID-19 booster vaccine into the arm of Norman Solomon (right) in San Rafael, California, October 2021
As experience with COVID-19 vaccines grows, it is conceivable that the definition of a 'full and complete regimen' in the United States would comprise three doses of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and two doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, he said, similar to what some other countries have done.
'Right now, officially, fully vaccinated equals two shots of the mRNA and one shot of the J&J, but without a doubt that could change,' he said.
'That's on the table for discussion.'
As for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11, which started with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine earlier this month, Fauci said there is no sign of any new safety issues.
'There is no signal at all,' he told Reuters said.
At least 10 percent of the 28 million eligible children have gotten a first dose, Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said during a press briefing on Monday.
Fauci said people need to realize that no vaccine is completely without side effects.
But when you consider the risks of COVID-19 compared to the very rare risk of an adverse event in a child, 'overwhelmingly...the benefit far, far outweighs the risk.'
Asked whether he might consider retiring any time s
oon, the 80-year-old immunologist who heads the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: 'I'm not even remotely contemplating that right now.'
Fauci said he still wants to see the end of COVID-19 as a pandemic, and he also wants to see progress on ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to which he has devoted much of his career.
'There's a lot of unfinished business right now, so I'm not even thinking about walking away.'
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