The definition of fully vaccinated is changing from one booster to the next
Blog post by Marica Micallef
With the rolling out of Covid-19 vaccines, the Green Health Pass came into fruition. This pass permitted the vaccinated to travel without the need for quarantine and gained access to public places and events. The vaccinated thought that finally, they did their part to bring the world back to normal and to gain their much-awaited “freedom”.
Now with the rollout of the boosters, will this Green Health Pass be valid or will it be renewed only if its holder takes the booster?
Macron has already warned that if people don’t take the booster, their health pass won’t remain valid: “Macron chose to focus on the need for vulnerable people and the elderly to get their third booster shots, warning that their health pass could be invalidated if they didn’t get the jab.”[1] Will other governments issue such a warning to their citizens? What about our local health authorities? Will the Maltese people have to bargain their “freedom pass” with the booster?
Having said this, does this mean that the definition of being vaccinated will change from one vaccine to the next, from one booster to the next, during this never-ending Covid-19 story? What will constitute a fully vaccinated person then? Will it mean someone who took the first two doses [or one Johnson & Johnson dose] or someone who took the third booster? And if any vaccinated person refuses to take the booster, will that mean that s/he is no longer considered vaccinated and that s/he is considered as non-vaccinated? Then what did the pre-booster vaccines serve for?
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already said that they will have to adjust what is deemed as “fully vaccinated”. He reiterated that:
“We will have to adjust our concept of what constitutes a full vaccination to take account of that, and I think that is increasingly obvious.[2]”
Will this then mean that over 34 million people will NO longer be considered fully vaccinated?
[1] https://www.rfi.fr/en/europe/20211115-how-is-france-and-its-neighbours-preparing-for-the-fifth-covid-wave-lockdown-austria-germany-netherlands
[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-adapt-fully-vaccinated-definition-account-boosters-pm-johnson-2021-11-15/