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Geneva: Healthy children and adolescents may no longer need COVID shots, the World Health Organisation said, updating its guidance on vaccines as the world adjusts to living permanently with the virus.
Older people and higher-risk groups – including those with underlying conditions – should get COVID boosters between six and 12 months after their last injections, the WHO said in a statement announcing a revised vaccine road map for the new stage of the pandemic.
A child receives the Pfizer vaccine in Germany in December.Credit:Getty
“Countries should consider their specific context in deciding whether to continue vaccinating low-risk groups, like healthy children and adolescents, while not compromising the routine vaccines that are so crucial for the health and wellbeing of this age group,” said Hanna Nohynek, chair of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation.
The Geneva-based organisation’s latest advice comes as booster rates fall in countries from China to the US. J just 16 per cent of Americans have lined up for the latest round of shots targeting the Omicron variant, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.
The drop-off won’t just have financial consequences for vaccine makers – including Pfizer and Moderna – but is also sparking concerns among public health experts who say updated vaccinations are the best way to protect against COVID.
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The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends that everyone aged six months and older stay up to date with all coronavirus vaccines. The disparity between that advice and the new WHO protocol could confuse the public, said Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa.
It will “add to uncertainty about whether to trust the healthcare system,” he said. “The message from the CDC and others must be very clear.”
A CDC spokesperson, speaking generally, said health policy decisions could be difficult in the face of limited resources and opportunity costs, and sometimes required “trade-offs”. The updated recommendations give countries more flexibility, according to the agency.