WHO says Covid-19 booster Vaccines are not necessary at the moment

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that current data does not show that booster vaccines are necessary for the coronavirus. In addition, it pointed out that the world’s most vulnerable people should be fully vaccinated before rich countries inject their booster doses.

The WHO made the comments just before the government of US said that they plan to make booster vaccines available to all their citizens as of September 20, due to an increase in infections by the Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The chief scientist of the WHO, Soumya Swaminathan, told a press conference in Geneva that “we clearly believe that current data does not indicate that reinforcements are needed” to increase protection against the disease.

Swaminathan added that further research was necessary.

The lead advisor to the WHO, Bruce Aylward, told the media in reference to booster vaccines given in high-income countries: “There are enough vaccines around the world, but they don’t go to the right places in the right order”.

Two doses should be given to the most vulnerable worldwide before boosters are given to those who are fully vaccinated, he said, adding that “we are very, very far from it”.