When COVID vaccines first rolled out in December 2020, the term "fully vaccinated" means that a person has received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or AstraZeneca COVID vaccines or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. As 2021 draws to a close, however, health authorities are looking to change the meaning of being "fully vaccinated" against COVID.
According to WND, controversial White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci acknowledged that as time goes by, the COVID vaccine-induced "immunity wanes more and more," leading him to the conclusion that "as time goes by, you're going to see more vaccinated people" becoming vulnerable once more to COVID. This is why Fauci recommended getting a booster shot or a third dose of the COVID vaccine, for those who received a two-dose regimen. He is also open to adding more booster shots down the line.
"In my opinion boosters are ultimately going to become a part of the standard regimen and not just a bonus," Dr. Fauci, who also serves as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, remarked.
Not the Bee then posed an important question, "If, which is supremely likely, leaders are just going to continuously require new shots in order for us to be considered 'vaccinated' against COVID-19, how can anyone ever actually be called 'fully vaccinated?'"
CNN reported that several European countries are already establishing vaccine mandates on booster shots. In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that people over 65 must get a third dose to ensure their "fully vaccinated" status. In Austria, the "fully vaccinated" status has an expiry date. This status expires nine months after the second dose, which encourages more people to get the booster shot. In Israel, a person must have received their second shot of the COVID vaccine within the last six months to be eligible for the green pass, a vaccine passport that allows access to gyms, restaurants, and other public venues.
As governments continue to mandate COVID vaccines and health authorities move goalposts to redefine what it means to be "fully vaccinated" against COVID, pharmaceutical manufacturers are seeing ever increasing demands. That's why the Biden administration is pledging billions of dollars to boost vaccine manufacturing in the U.S., with a goal of producing at least a billion doses annually, to ensure that poorer countries also have access to the jabs, The Guardian reported.
"This is about assuring expanded capacity against Covid variants and also preparing for the next pandemic," David Kessler, who is tasked to lead vaccine distribution for the White House, explained to the New York Times.
"The goal, in the case of a future pandemic, a future virus, is to have vaccine capability within six to nine months of identification of that pandemic pathogen, and to have enough vaccines for all Americans."
The initiative will be funded by the so-called American Rescue Plan, a $1.9-trillion pandemic relief bill that was signed into law earlier this year. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to expand eligibility for COVID booster shots for all adults very soon, in time for the holiday season.
