January 24, 2022 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is shifting the messaging focus from “fully vaccinated” to emphasizing the importance of staying “up to date” with COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.
This pivot in communication is meant “to make sure that everybody is as up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines as they personally could be, should be, based on when they got their last vaccines,” said Rochelle Walensky, the CDC Director, in response to a question about the agency’s guidelines during a press briefing at the White House.
Walensky went on to say, “”That means if you recently got your second dose, you’re not eligible for a booster, you’re up to date. If you are eligible for a booster and you haven’t gotten it, you’re not up to date and you need to get your booster in order to be up to date.”
CDC data shows that more than 210 million Americans, 63% of the population, have been fully vaccinated as of Jan. 23. From that 63%, nearly 40% have received a booster shot.’