2 Doses Still The Norm For Fully Vaccinated -Latest News!

With the onset of Omicron, the government has asked all the people over the age of 18 who have completed 6 months since their last vaccine dose to get the booster dose as well. This created a lot of confusion among the citizens as earlier being fully vaccinated meant only 2 doses and this was the mandatory requirement for entering any public space or offices as well.

2 Doses Still The Norm For Fully Vaccinated -Latest News!

Addressing this concern Dr. Anthony Fauci the chief medical officer for the White House stated that the definition of fully vaccinated is still 2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. People who had taken Johnson & Johnson had only one dose and that is also considered as fully vaccinated. However, seeing the Omicron variant all people should get their booster shots as well so as to increase the efficacy of the vaccine stated Fauci.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) director Dr. Rochelle Walensky stated that 25 states in the US have detected the new variant – Omicron. Walensky further added that long-term issues with the virus have not yet been determined however people who were infected with Omicron showed mild issues like fever, cough, and body ache.

The symptoms are major in people who are older and have low immunity resistance. People who are unvaccinated also show major symptoms for Omicron and need to be hospitalized as compared to vaccinated people who are asked to stay in home isolation.

Since Omicron is spreading at a much faster pace the US will be continuing travel restrictions for all inbound passengers where they will have to produce a negative RT-PCR test result and need to be fully vaccinated. For all domestic travel full vaccination has been made mandatory. As of Sunday, the death toll in the US due to coronavirus crossed 800,000.

Some of the other mandates are that people need to wear masks and should maintain social distancing when they are out in public. Anyone who doesn’t wear masks can be fined as much as $1000 as well by the authorities.

The mayor for New York City Bill de Blasio stated that a fully vaccinated certificate needs to be shown if any person now wants to enter malls, food joints, or a theatre. This has got some positive response as more people have come forward for the vaccination.

However, New York is seeing a greater number of cases on Omicron and the major reason for this is the high population. Contact tracing is currently being done but health authorities informed that if the number of cases goes over 100 this cant be continued as they don’t have enough personnel for tracing every infected person.

The pharma companies have been asked to increase their production so as to meet the requirements of vaccine and booster shots. The US has currently administered 49 million booster shots and more than 200 million people have been fully vaccinated. Authorities hope to reach the target of 300 million by the end of February.

Many of the scientists and researchers are now stating the virus will soon become seasonal and this has already started. Last winter with the delta surge and this winter with Omicron. The only way to protect oneself is to get the vaccination.

Dr. Fauci also stated that people should not mistake the vaccine for a cure, vaccines are made only to keep people away from hospitals while the researchers are still working on the cure for the virus. There have been few deaths due to the virus now and doctors are trying to determine if this is due to delta or by Omicron.