The World Health Organization has adapted its Covid-19 vaccination recommendations for a new phase of the pandemic, suggesting that healthy children and adolescents do not necessarily need a vaccine, but that older groups older and high-risk patients should be given a booster between 6 and 12 months after their last vaccination.
The UN agency said the goal was to focus efforts on vaccinating those most at risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19, given the high levels of population immunity in the world. world due to widespread infection and vaccination.
The health agency defined high-risk populations as the elderly, as well as younger people with other significant risk factors. For this group, the agency recommends an additional injection of the vaccine 6 or 12 months after the last dose, depending on factors such as age and immunocompromised conditions.
Meanwhile, he said healthy children and adolescents were “low priority” for vaccination against COVID-19, and urged countries to consider factors such as disease burden before recommend vaccination of this group. He said COVID-19 vaccines and boosters were safe for all ages, but the recommendations considered other factors such as cost-effectiveness.
The WHO said last September that the end of the pandemic was “in sight”. In a Tuesday briefing, the agency said its latest advice reflected the current disease picture and global immunity levels, but should not be seen as long-term guidance on the need for annual boosters.
The recommendations come as countries take different approaches. Some high-income countries like the UK and Canada are already offering high-risk people COVID-19 boosters this spring, six months after their last dose.
“The revised roadmap re-emphasizes the importance of vaccinating those still at risk of severe disease,” said Hanna NohynekChairman of the WHO Strategic Group of Experts on Immunization, which formulated the recommendations.
The committee also called for urgent efforts to catch up. on missed routine vaccinations during the pandemic and warned of an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.
For Covid, he said vaccines beyond the initial two shots and a booster were no longer routinely recommended for people at “average risk” because the benefits were marginal.
The UN agency said the goal was to focus efforts on vaccinating those most at risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19, given the high levels of population immunity in the world. world due to widespread infection and vaccination.
The health agency defined high-risk populations as the elderly, as well as younger people with other significant risk factors. For this group, the agency recommends an additional injection of the vaccine 6 or 12 months after the last dose, depending on factors such as age and immunocompromised conditions.
Meanwhile, he said healthy children and adolescents were “low priority” for vaccination against COVID-19, and urged countries to consider factors such as disease burden before recommend vaccination of this group. He said COVID-19 vaccines and boosters were safe for all ages, but the recommendations considered other factors such as cost-effectiveness.
The WHO said last September that the end of the pandemic was “in sight”. In a Tuesday briefing, the agency said its latest advice reflected the current disease picture and global immunity levels, but should not be seen as long-term guidance on the need for annual boosters.
The recommendations come as countries take different approaches. Some high-income countries like the UK and Canada are already offering high-risk people COVID-19 boosters this spring, six months after their last dose.
“The revised roadmap re-emphasizes the importance of vaccinating those still at risk of severe disease,” said Hanna NohynekChairman of the WHO Strategic Group of Experts on Immunization, which formulated the recommendations.
The committee also called for urgent efforts to catch up. on missed routine vaccinations during the pandemic and warned of an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.
For Covid, he said vaccines beyond the initial two shots and a booster were no longer routinely recommended for people at “average risk” because the benefits were marginal.
