Canada, U.S. not changing definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ despite boosters
Global News
"I think that we will be revisiting this question again after our booster programs have rolled out significantly in the domestic context," Theresa Tam said.
U.S. health officials said Wednesday they are not changing the qualifications for being “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19, but they are urging Americans to stay “up to date” on their protection against the virus by getting booster shots when eligible.
The move to keep the existing definition of fully vaccinated – either two doses of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – comes as health officials warned of waning protections from the initial doses. They are encouraging Americans to get additional doses to stave off serious illness and death from the Delta and Omicron variants.
Meanwhile, Canada’s top doctor said Wednesday the qualifications for being fully vaccinated were not changing in Canada at this point either.
“I think that we will be revisiting this question again after our booster programs have rolled out significantly in the domestic context,” Theresa Tam said during a press conference Wednesday.
“We do know that there’s evolving international knowledge about the effectiveness of the vaccine and the most important thing about the vaccines that we have is that two doses offer substantial protection against severe outcomes and a booster dose can increase that protection as well.”
The decision to keep the initial definition, established more than a year ago when the vaccines first rolled out, means that federal vaccination mandates for travel or employment won’t require a booster dose.
Maintaining the existing definition of “fully vaccinated” could make it more difficult to encourage some Americans who only begrudgingly got their primary doses of the vaccine to get boosted, since they would not face onerous restrictions often imposed on the unvaccinated _ including testing requirements or, in some jurisdictions, being barred from indoor dining and other facilities.
