As COVID-19 booster shots increasingly become available, the U.S. could change the definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated.
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that they might need to update the definition in the future.
“We have not yet changed the definition of ‘fully vaccinated.’ We will continue to look at this. We may need to update our definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ in the future,” she told reporters.
She continues to encourage everyone to get a booster shot if they’re eligible. “if you’re eligible for a booster, go ahead and get your booster,” she said.
Currently, “fully vaccinated” means you have received both doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, reported that over 70 million Americans are eligible to receive booster shots. He noted that “more than 120 million Americans will become eligible for a booster in the coming months”.
Data from the CDC shows that 57.2% of the population is fully vaccinated and 66.2% has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Approximately 6% of the population has been given a booster shot.