Think twice before booster campaigns, WHO director says

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said rolling out booster campaigns which target those who are not immediately vulnerable is ‘really not right’.
The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is prepared by a health worker at Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire (Steve Parsons/PA)
PA Archive
Elmira Tanatarova14 September 2021

Rolling out booster campaigns which target more than just vulnerable people is “really not right”, the director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries rolling out such campaigns for the wider population to think twice.

He added there was still a lack of evidence to show booster jabs are needed.

(PA Graphics)
PA Graphics

Answering a question on third doses for TRT World at a WHO briefing focused on Africa and Covid-19 vaccine equity, Dr Tedros said: “The moratorium for use for boosters, which I asked should last up to the end of this year, covers the immunocompromised specifically, not beyond that.

“We said it many times.

“We had a meeting recently of 2,000 scientist coming from all over the world who discussed on the same issue and there is nothing conclusive on the use of boosters for the time being.

“Until we have conclusive evidence it’s very important to hold it.”

Dr Tedros added that there are ethical concerns with vaccinating protected people when others around the world have yet to receive a dose.

He said: “There are countries with less than 2% of vaccination coverage, most of them in Africa, who are not even getting the first and second dose and starting with boosters, especially giving it to healthy populations, is really not right.”

The director general referenced WHO executive director Dr Mike Ryan’s comparison of booster jabs for the non-immunocompromised as handing out life jackets to those who already have one.

Dr Kate O’Brien, the director of the department of immunisation, vaccines and biologicals at WHO added that evidence on boosters is still being collected.

She said: “One of the important points for people to really understand is that this is not about withholding booster doses in the face of evidence that they are needed.

“This is about needing evidence that they’re needed and that there is a safe pathway towards their deployment.

“We’ll continue to watch as that evidence accrues and make any adjustments as the evidence demands it, but we’re not there yet.”

From next week the UK will offer booster Covid vaccines to millions of people alongside annual flu jabs.

Those eligible include anyone aged 50 and over, people living and working in elderly care homes, and frontline health and social care workers.

All those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and anyone aged 16 to 65 in an at-risk group for Covid (who were included in priority groups one to nine during the initial vaccine rollout) will also be eligible for a jab.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in