Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert as they call him says that the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ in the U.S. will eventually change to only include people who have received three vaccine doses.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) said that the change is unlikely to happen in the next week, but he expects it to happen at some point in the future.
He also said the health officials are already investigating the potential need for a fourth dose of the vaccine after people receive their boosters.
Fauci’s statements come the same day that Pfizer announced that people who had received its jab require a COVID-19 booster shot to keep the same level of protection against the Omicron variant – and that those who have only received two doses are now at risk of breakthrough infections.
The variant, which was discovered last month by South African health officials, has already managed to spread around the world, being sequenced 2,324 times in 61 countries across the world.
That includes 71 cases in 21 U.S. states, with New York leading the nation with 21 cases sequenced as of Thursday morning.
But don’t worry, the vaccines work bro.
There have been 568 cases of the variant detected in the UK, while Johnson says the real figure is likely over 10,000.
Denmark is the world’s leader in confirmed Omicron variant cases, having logged 577 cases of the variant, with at least 64 cases tied to a high school Christmas lunch event.
In South Africa, where the variant was first detected, hospitalizations remain on the rise, and the nation recorded nearly 20,000 new Covid cases on Wednesday, bringing the seven-day average up to 13,400. Australia is also seeing a rise in cases amongst the “fully vaccinated.”
But the vaccines work bro, don’t stress.
‘Certainly, when you want to talk about what optimal protection is, I don’t think anybody would argue that optimal protection is going to be with a third shot,’ Fauci told CNN on Wednesday.
Experts claimed the booster dose should have been able to protect people from these cases of the variant, however, they’re also saying the efficacy of the shots may wane over time.
Works the vaccine does though.
Now, Fauci says that officials are already weighing the potential need for a fourth shot for Americans. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said a fourth dose might eventually be needed as well. Which will be highly profitable for the company and the CEO’s pocket. Yum Yum.
‘I think we will need the fourth dose,’ he said, pointing to his previous timeline of 12 months. ‘With omicron, we need to wait and see because we have very little information. We may need it faster,’ Fauci told CNBC.
He later said it was unclear how durable the additional protection provided by the third dose would be.
The vaccines though work super perfectly and amazing though guys.
