The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report highlighting how well those who received COVID-19 booster vaccinations held up against the omicron variant compared with the unvaccinated. The data revealed that adults who were unvaccinated were five times more likely to become infected than adults who were fully vaccinated and boosted as the omicron variant first began to spread.
New @CDCMMWR found when #Omicron first began circulating, adults who got a #COVID19 booster dose had 5x the protection against infection compared w/ adults who were not vaccinated. All eligible people should stay up to date w/ COVID-19 vaccination. More: https://t.co/kDgAdWsPpx. pic.twitter.com/LKCfJRjf6P
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 21, 2022
The results of the data analyzed show that fully vaccinated and boosted adults do have a degree of protection against omicron, despite its increased transmissibility. As a result, the CDC is urging eligible persons to “stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.”
But what does “up to date” mean? The health body has a specific definition for the term. On this page of the CDC’s website, it states, “Up to date means a person has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccines, including any booster dose(s) when eligible.”
Depending on which vaccines you got, you’ll have either had two doses (Moderna or Pfizer) or one dose (Johnson & Johnson), and then an additional booster dose after that. Recipients of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine should get their booster at least five months after their second shot, and recipients of the J&J vaccine should get their booster at least two months after their initial shot. Adults who have received both the primary and booster doses can consider themselves “up to date” per CDC guidelines.