The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that booster doses of COVID vaccines no longer be administered to the general population in many countries, given the high rate of immunization achieved by the populations.
Vaccine experts from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccines (SAGE) have stated that the need for a booster dose, six to 12 months after the previous one, is maintained only for the elderly, immunocompromised, and healthcare workers.
This is the first report in which SAGE divides the population into three risk groups: high, medium, and low. The need for new booster doses is maintained only for the first group, which includes the three groups mentioned above. Hanna Nohynek, president of SAGE, explained that this is a reflection of the fact that a large part of the population is already vaccinated, has been infected with COVID-19, or both.
For people at medium risk of COVID-19 (adults under 60 years of age and children or adolescents with certain health problems), SAGE recommends only a first full dose of the vaccine plus a booster dose after the required timelines, something that many countries have already completed in 2022. In the low-risk group (children and adolescents), SAGE recognizes the benefits that vaccines and booster doses can have in their prevention, although it recommends reconsidering their immunization.
Each country should consider its specific context when deciding whether to continue vaccinating low-risk groups such as healthy children and adolescents, as long as it does not compromise other crucial immunizations, Nohynek noted.
Experts also recommend a booster dose of the COVID vaccine for pregnant women six months or more after the previous one. The meetings also discussed global vaccination programs against other diseases, such as malaria, where one of the first vaccines designed against it, RTS-S, is being tested in Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya since 2019.
The vaccine has shown a substantial reduction in severe cases of the disease among children, noted SAGE, who indicated that 28 other countries have shown interest in introducing this product into their health networks. In addition, experts were concerned about the reduction that the pandemic has produced in measles vaccination programs, with some 25 million children affected, causing the lowest coverage rate since 2008.