The WHO believes that healthy people do not need a booster dose of the Covid vaccine.
- WHO has revised its recommendations for vaccination against Covid-19.
- If the most fragile must continue to make additional reminders regularly, the organization considers that they are not necessary for adults in good health.
- On the other hand, the primary vaccine remains recommended.
After meeting between March 20 and 23, WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) gave its new recommendations for the anti-Covid vaccine. Experts say healthy adults don’t need extra boosters.
Covid-19: healthy adults don’t need boosters
For the World Health Organization, healthy adults with no comorbidities – generally aged under 50 to 60 – should perform the primary injection and the first booster doses. However, they do not need to do the additional boosters, due to the achieved herd immunity and the “relatively low returns to public health”. Similar instructions were given for children and adolescents with comorbidities.
Young people without any health problems were classified as “low priority group”. “Countries must consider their specific context when deciding whether to continue to vaccinate low-risk groups, such as healthy children and adolescents, without compromising routine vaccines that are so crucial for health and well-being. of this age group”explained the president of SAGE, Dr Hanna Nohynek in a press release issued on March 28, 2023.
Anti-Covid-19 vaccine: a priority for vulnerable people
On the other hand, the experts of the world body continue to recommend an additional booster between 6 and 12 months after the last dose for the most fragile. That is to say the elderly, young adults with significant comorbidities (diabetes, heart disease, etc.), immunocompromised patients (for example, people living with HIV and transplant recipients) as well as pregnant women and front-line health workers. The time between reminders depends on “factors such as age and immunocompromised conditions”the statement added.
“Updated to reflect that a large part of the population is either vaccinated or already infected with Covid-19, or both, the revised roadmap re-emphasizes the importance of vaccinating those still at risk of severe illness, primarily the elderly and those with underlying conditions, including with additional boosters”explains the president of SAGE, Dr Hanna Nohynek.