Covid Thanksgiving: Fully vaccinated family members can celebrate holidays without masks, says Fauci
“That’s what I’m going to do with my family,” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
“Get vaccinated and you can enjoy the holiday very easily. And if not, be careful,” Fauci said. “Get tested if you need to get tested when the two of you see each other, but it’s not a substitute for vaccinations. Get yourself vaccinated and you can continue to enjoy interactions with family and friends. is different.”
Fauci’s comments come as the United States faces a second holiday break from the pandemic, but the first with a safe and effective vaccine is now available for people 5 years of age and older. However, a significant portion of the eligible population remains unvaccinated.
Nearly 196 million people, or 59% of the total US population, are fully immunized, according to figures released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. But about 26.6% of the eligible population, or 83 million people, have yet to receive their first dose.
The seven-day average vaccination rate has increased – about 36% from the previous week – in large part because new children are eligible to be vaccinated.
The definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ remains the same
The agencies have said that everyone who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine two months or more ago should get a booster shot.
For now, Fauci said the US definition of “fully vaccinated” remains the same – giving two doses in a given time frame – but those guidelines could change with more data.
“Two shots in a time frame means you’re fully vaccinated, but what you want people and viewers to understand, that’s not the effectiveness of the vaccine – it’s quite effective – it exists. for how long,” he said.
“We’re going to look at turbocharger durability now. We’re going to keep an eye on those boosted,” Fauci told Bash. “It will be guided by science – and people shouldn’t overlook the fact that as time goes on and we understand more and more about protections we can modify the guidelines.”
Fauci emphasized the importance of vaccines and boosters over the next few months, as he noted that the increase in cases was “not unexpected” in the winter.
People who are eligible for the vaccine but are still unvaccinated, he said, pose a risk not only to themselves and the unvaccinated, “but also to people who are vaccinated, because No vaccine is 100% effective.”
“We have a lot of virus circulating,” Fauci said. “We know that there are breakthrough infections, and that’s how you get an increase in cases.” “The bottom line, the common denominator of all this data, is that we should get vaccinated if you haven’t been vaccinated and boosted if you’ve been vaccinated.”
CNN’s Maggie Fox contributed to this report.
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