Why doesn’t “fully vaccinated” for COVID-19 mean booster shots?

Despite new data showing the booster efficiency and the dazzling number of COVID-19[feminine cas dus à la plus contagieuse variante omicron, le CDC n’a pas l’intention de modifier sa définition de “entièrement vacciné”. Le terme signifie toujours deux injections des vaccins à ARNm Moderna ou Pfizer ou une injection de Johnson & Johnson. Au lieu de cela, l’agence se tourne vers le descripteur plus général de “à jour” pour décrire une protection vaccinale efficace.

À Point de presse de la Maison Blanche vendredi, le Dr Rochelle Walensky, directrice des Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a été interrogée par CNN, “Pouvez-vous expliquer pourquoi le CDC ne modifie pas la définition de” entièrement vacciné “, étant donné que cela pourrait potentiellement encourager plus de personnes à obtenir un troisième coup?” Les États-Unis ont actuellement renforcé 85,5 millions de personnes, soit environ 40 % des personnes considérées comme totalement vaccinées.

Walensky a répondu: “En santé publique, pour tous les vaccins, nous avons parlé d’être à jour pour vos vaccins. Chaque année, vous avez besoin d’un vaccin contre la grippe; vous n’êtes pas à jour avec votre vaccin contre la grippe tant que vous n’avez pas obtenu votre vaccin contre la grippe pour cette année-là. … Ce que nous travaillons vraiment à faire, c’est de faire pivoter le langage pour nous assurer que tout le monde est aussi à jour avec ses vaccins COVID-19 qu’il pourrait l’être personnellement.

Malgré la réticence du CDC à modifier la définition, de nombreuses organisations et gouvernements qui utilisent le terme «entièrement vacciné» ajoutent des exigences de rappel à leurs règles COVID-19. Lisez la suite pour savoir quels collèges, entreprises et pays ont désormais besoin de boosters.

Pour en savoir plus, voici les dernières nouvelles sur le Coups de rappel Moderna, ce que vous devez savoir sur le Pilule antivirale Pfizer et comment choisir entre les rappels de vaccins. L’article continue ci-dessous.

De combien de doses avez-vous besoin pour être considéré comme “entièrement vacciné” ?

D’après le CDC, vous êtes complètement vacciné deux semaines après avoir reçu votre deuxième dose du vaccin Moderna ou Pfizer, ou deux semaines après une dose unique du vaccin Johnson & Johnson.

Le CDC considère également que vous êtes complètement vacciné si vous avez reçu un vaccin à dose unique répertorié pour une utilisation d’urgence par l’Organisation mondiale de la santé ou n’importe quelle combinaison des vaccins à deux doses approuvés par la FDA ou répertorié par l’OMS pour une utilisation d’urgence.

Bien que cette définition officielle de “entièrement vacciné” ne soit pas susceptible de changer, le site Web du CDC a remplacé le terme “entièrement vacciné”, c’est-à-dire protégé au maximum, par le descripteur plus général “à jour.”

Le conseiller médical de la Maison Blanche, le Dr Anthony Fauci, a déclaré que trois coups devraient être envisagés la nouvelle ligne de base – une partie de la série primaire de vaccinations plutôt qu’un “rappel”.

Fauci a déclaré que son équipe s’était éloignée de l’utilisation de “entièrement vacciné”, au profit de l’expression “maintenir vos vaccinations à jour”.

“En ce moment, la protection optimale est avec un troisième tir d’un ARNm ou un deuxième tir d’un J&J”, a déclaré Fauci lors d’une Présentation des Instituts nationaux de la santé début janvier.

Les experts disent que la définition du CDC de «entièrement vacciné» doit inclure les injections de rappel

Alors que des études préliminaires montrent la capacité d’omicron à infecter ceux qui n’ont reçu qu’une première série d’injections, les experts médicaux affirment que la terminologie doit changer.

Dans un éditorial de La colline, le Dr Dorry Segev, professeur d’épidémiologie à la Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a déclaré que la norme vieille d’un an des deux premières injections d’un vaccin à ARNm ou de l’un de Johnson & Johnson “n’a pas bien vieilli”.

Cinq mois après avoir été “entièrement vaccinés”, selon la définition du CDC, “nos niveaux d’anticorps ont probablement considérablement chuté, et avec eux, notre première ligne de défense contre l’acquisition et la réplication – et donc l’excrétion et la propagation – du virus”.

Segev a exhorté l’agence à ajouter des rappels à sa définition de complètement vacciné.

“Si ça [was] important to distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated when the CDC first established this definition, it is now equally important to distinguish between boosted and unboosted,” he wrote. “To put it more bluntly, someone whose last dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was more than five months ago should no longer be considered ‘fully vaccinated’ and is probably no longer sufficiently protected to be surrounded by strangers inside”.

Changing the terminology will encourage some Americans who are vaccine hesitant or “recall hesitant,” Segev added.

Why do I need a booster shot anyway?

More and more evidence shows that vaccine protection against COVID decreases over time and that booster shots are needed to “complement” anti-COVID-19 antibodies, especially against omicron. Several studies indicate, for example, that Pfizer’s vaccine begins to decline after only two or three months.

The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded recall authorization to include everyone 12 years and over at least five months after receiving a second dose of mRNA vaccines or two months after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Breakout cases of COVID-19 in people who have completed their initial vaccinations have increased dramatically with omicron.

Will 3 doses of vaccine become the norm? 4?

Although the definition of fully vaccinated has not changed, three doses have become the de facto standard for many. “Although two doses of the vaccine may still provide protection against severe disease caused by the omicron strain, it is clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” said Pfizer President, Albert Bourla. said in a press release on the first results of the continued effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine.

Will there be a fourth shot? Israel has already started rolling out a fourth vaccine for medical personnel, people 60 or older, and immunocompromised people. The country recently launched a study on the effectiveness of a second booster, testing 154 health workers at Sheba Medical Center. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that a fourth dose of the vaccine appears to be as safe as the third dose and increases vaccine protection fivefold.

AT Presentation of the National Institutes of Health, Fauci stressed the importance of first collecting and analyzing data from the third strike before considering a fourth dose: “I would say that we have to find out how durable the protection of the third strike is before we start thinking about the fourth shot.”

Which places require booster shots?

Many schools, companies and countries mandate booster injections: Apple now requires all store and business employees must be reinforced, and Puerto Rico has adopted recall requirements for all public school students 12 and older, as well as all residents working in tourism or entertainment, according to AP.

From Monday, January 24, by Maui Now, residents of Maui, Hawaii must be “up to date” with boosters to enter restaurants, bars and gyms. Spain also recently stated that all visitors to the country need to be stimulated if 270 days have passed since their first vaccination, join France, Croatia, Israel and the Netherlands in the group of countries now requiring reminders.

Last fall, Wesleyan University in Connecticut became the first college to make reminders mandatory for students. Many other colleges have followed suit, including all Ivy League schools. More and more colleges and universities are announcing reminder requirements every week. The University Business website currently lists 331 colleges that require booster shots for students and staff.

Will we need an omicron-specific booster to protect against the virus?

If two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are not enough to protect against omicron, would we need a variant-specific booster to restore protection? According to Fauci, “At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster.”

But getting people to go from two to three doses will take extra effort: The CDC website states more than 210 million Americans are currently “fully immunized” with Moderna, Pfizer, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. That’s 63.3% of the total US population. However, only 83.5 million in the United States received a booster, or 39.7% of the so-called fully vaccinated, or just over 25% of the total US population.

Moderna said it was study an omicron-specific vaccine, as well as a multivalent vaccine that could protect against alpha and delta strains, but clinical trials aren’t expected to begin until next year.

When can I do a booster shot?

The CDC says you can “ensure you are optimally protected against COVID-19” by getting vaccinated and having a booster shot. If you received one of Moderna’s or Pfizer’s mRNA vaccines, the CDC says you should receive a booster at least five months after your second dose. If you have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, see the next section.

The Moderna vaccine, Spikevax, has only been licensed for adults 18 and older. The FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine for people 16 and older and granted emergency clearance for children ages 5 to 15.

On January 5, the CDC expanded its recommendation on booster shots to include teenagers aged 12 to 17. “It is critical that we protect our children and adolescents from COVID-19 infection and complications from serious illness,” Walensky said. “This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children informed of the CDC’s recommendations regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.”

What about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

The CDC website indicates “optimal” protection after receiving a second injection of the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine at a dose at least two months after the first.

Last year, the agency Moderna or Pfizer mRNA vaccines recommended on Johnson & Johnson viral vector shot, citing a rare but dangerous blood clot side effect. But a Johnson & Johnson vaccine booster offers strong protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 — stronger even than Pfizer’s jab — according to new research.

A study from December 30 of 69,000 South African health workers found that, among people who had already received a dose of the J&J vaccine, a booster given six to nine months later improved their risk of hospitalization by 63% to 85%.

A separate study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that a J&J booster given to people who initially received two doses of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine generated a 41-fold increase in antibody response within one month, against only a 17-fold increase when administered. a reminder of the Pfizer vaccine.

For more, here’s what we know about the omicron variant and how the new mutation compares with delta. And here’s how keep your vaccine card on your phone.

The information in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute medical or health advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have about a medical condition or health goals.