NORFOLK, Va. — What does it mean to be fully vaccinated? Norfolk Acting Health Director Dr. Parham Jaberi acknowledges it can be a tricky term.
“I think for right now, the common acceptance is still the two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna and the one dose of the J&J for work requirements and many others," he said. "And then came along the boosters."
Waning protection over time warranted an additional dose.
So, does that mean the definition of "fully vaccinated" will include a booster dose?
"Interestingly, [Connecticut and New Mexico] on their own have gone ahead and said, 'in our state, we feel that you've got to have the booster to be fully vaccinated,' but from a federal perspective, that's not the stance as of today," said Cindy Williams, vice president and chief pharmacy of Riverside Health System.
Even so, more boosters are expected to roll out after the FDA and CDC gave the green light for 16 and 17-year-olds who got Pfizer.
CDC Director Doctor Rochelle Walensky said in a statement Thursday, "although we don't have all the answers on the Omicron variant, initial data suggests that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen the protection against Omicron and other variants."
"Now's the time to act," Williams added.
Williams described Pfizer's latest lab data about Omicron as "promising."
"It appears that getting a booster of their products gives you a 25-fold increase in antibody titers," she said. "It's really boosting us back to where we would have been in early winter, if you will."
Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier this week that "it's going to be a matter of when, not if" the meaning of "fully vaccinated" changes.
Medical experts are looking at the data day by day.