Fauci says 'we might modify' definition of 'fully vaccinated' to include booster shots

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the definition of "fully vaccinated" might be changed by health officials to include COVID-19 booster shots if the data supports it.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone aged 18 and older get booster shots six months after receiving either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

"We're going to take a look right now at what the durability is of the booster," Fauci told "State of the Union" host Dana Bash, according to Fox News. "We're going to follow people who get boosted."

"People should not be put off by the fact that as time goes by and we learn more and more about the protection that we might modify the guidelines," he said. "That's what we've been saying all along by follow the science, things change and you have to follow the data."

Fauci also said on ABC's "This Week" that he's hopeful the booster shot will not diminish in efficiency like the initial shots.

"We would hope, and this is something that we're looking at very carefully, that that third shot with the mRNA not only boosts you way up, but increases the durability so that you will not necessarily need it every six months or a year," he said. "We're hoping it pushes it out more."

"If it doesn't, and the data shows we need to do it more often, then we’ll do it, but we want to make sure we get the population optimally protected and you do whatever you need to do."

The Democratic governors of Connecticut and New Mexico have both said that the definition of fully vaccinated should include booster shots now.