Michele Gershberg, Julie Steenhuysen

NEW YORK (Reuters), a U.S. top infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated Tuesday that most Americans have received COVID-19 vaccinations and should get a booster shot. This could become the standard way of determining who’s fully vaccinated.

Experts on disease have stated that COVID-19 is expected to transition from an epidemic phase to an endemic state in the United States this spring. This means that it will still circulate at a lower rate, creating smaller but less severe outbreaks over the next few years.

Some are now concerned about a recent rise in U.S. infection rates in the last weeks. This trend is expected to continue as Americans gather in greater numbers for U.S. Turkey Week and other holidays.

Fauci told Reuters Next that he wanted to boost the number of people who had been vaccinated in the original regimen.

He said that the COVID-19 booster shots should be given to the majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated. The data shows that they provide “substantial protection” beyond the one-time inoculation.

About 33 million Americans have had a booster shot. A new eligibility expansion was made by the federal government to allow all U.S. adults to receive an additional shot.

Research from Israel and elsewhere has shown that vaccination protection decreases over time. Fauci stated that although initial data suggested the problem was primarily in elderly people, new evidence suggests that it is a problem for all ages.

He stated, “That is why we are very keen to get people who have been vaccinated previously to get boosters… they truly do work.”

It is possible that, as the COVID-19 experience grows, the US definition of “full-and-complete regimen” would include three doses each of the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccines. Moderna (NASDAQ:) and two doses of the Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) vaccine, he said, similar to what some other countries have done.

“Right now, officially, fully vaccinated equals two shots of the mRNA and one shot of the J&J, but without a doubt that could change,” he said. This is up for discussion.

Fauci stated that there are no safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 5-11, which began with the Pfizer/BioNTech shot earlier in the month. Fauci stated that there is not any signal.

Jeff Zients, White House Coronavirus Coordinator, stated Monday that at most 10% of eligible children received their first dose.

Fauci explained that there are always side effects to vaccines. Consider the potential side effects of COVID-19, compared with the rare possibility of an adverse reaction in children, and you will see that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

The 80-year old immunologist, who runs the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said that he is not considering retiring anytime soon.

Fauci indicated that he would still like to see COVID-19 eliminated as a pandemic and that he is also interested in seeing progress towards ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which he has devoted much time to.

“I don’t think I will ever walk away from this job because there’s so much unfinished business.”