Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend that those most at risk of the Covid-19 virus be offered a second booster dose. This is to boost their immunity.
The WHO Expert Committee on Immunization Policy (SAGE) has stated that following an initial vaccination, usually consisting of two doses, and an already recommended first booster dose, specific groups of people should be offered a additional injection.
“We do this on the basis of observations relating to the weakening of immunity, particularly in the context of Omicron,” Joachim Hornbach, WHO’s senior health adviser, told reporters at a conference in virtual press.
The WHO has already recommended that all adults receive a booster shot four to six months following an initial series of vaccinations, which also consists of two shots.
Not for all adults
But Alejandro Cravioto stressed that the recommendation to carry out a second booster following four to six additional months only concerned the “most exposed populations”. It ‘does not constitute a general recommendation for vaccination of all adults following the first booster’, he said.
SAGE considered that second boosters should be offered to the elderly, all immunocompromised people, pregnant women, as well as people with conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart, lung and kidney disease.
Healthcare workers of all ages should also get the extra dose, Mr Cravioto said, stressing the need to ‘protect our healthcare systems’.
For now, these recall recommendations relate to available vaccines developed to combat the initial strain of Covid-19. The WHO has said it will evaluate new vaccines developed by companies such as Moderna and Pfizer, which target new Omicron variants.
/ATS
