Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle P. Walensky recently confirmed that the agency was “pivoting” their language to indicate that only those who have received a booster or who are not yet eligible for a booster were to be considered fully vaccinated from COVID-19.
Walensky seemed set to use the term “up to date” as opposed to “fully vaccinated” to discuss what the new requirements would be. The apparent “pivot” in language appeared to be a semantics ploy to try to cover up the appearance that they are now backtracking on promises. Previously Walensky and the CDC were adamant that that booster shots would not affect one’s vaccination status.
Walensky said during a recent CBS News interview that “what we really are working to do is to pivot the language 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 vaccine.”
“We really want to make sure that people are up to date. 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 to be up to date.”
Biden’s CDC Director says the definition of fully vaccinated is being changed to include the booster, and “fully vaccinated” will now be called “up to date.”pic.twitter.com/WgLKU80Gms
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 21, 2022
Those attempting to keep their good standing with federal and local officials, and in many cases, their employers, are facing the possibility that updates to their vaccination status may be a more frequent occurrence than what was initially indicated.
Just two over two months ago Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was castigated by administration officials for saying that the definition for who is considered to be vaccinated enough to keep their jobs.
The Independent published an article on Nov. 4, 2021, titled, “Fact Check: DeSantis falsely claims vaccinated citizens without boosters could be declared unvaccinated and lose their jobs.”
“Those individuals who have gone through a normal vaccination series for Covid…will be determined to be unvaccinated very soon,” DeSantis had said. “They will do that – they are gonna tell you: ‘you’re unvaccinated and you have to get a booster,’” he said, adding that those who did not get a booster “could potentially face loss of employment or other types of penalties.”
In response to DeSantis’ accusation, the Biden press team said, “The director of the CDC says the Biden administration has no plans to reclassify vaccinated people as unvaccinated if they don’t get boosters.”
As of Jan. 5, the story was still the same with a report from Forbes with the headline “Booster Still Not Required To Be ‘Fully Vaccinated,’ CDC Says,” assuaging fears from Americans.
“The federal government does not intend to change its definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ to include booster shots—which would have major implications for vaccine mandates,” Forbes stated, citing Walensky who said that while the CDC was “recommending” the booster, they weren’t requiring it to meet their standard of “fully vaccinated.”
Forbs went on to point out that changing the definition of “fully vaccinated” would “have implications for workplace vaccine mandates—such as those the federal government has imposed on federal and private employees and healthcare workers—as well as businesses and events that require proof of full vaccination.”
US News and World Report, however, reported in late November of last year that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, was already making noises like there might be a change in the status:
“We’ll continue to follow the data, because right now when we’re boosting people, what we’re doing is following them,” Fauci said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “We’re going to see what the durability of that protection is, and as we always do, you just follow and let the data guide your policy and let the data guide your recommendations.”
That information was released within days of the announcement that the White House was “prepared to get boosters to all adults as they are eligible.”