Vaccine experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended this Tuesday, March 28, that booster vaccines against covid are no longer administered to the population not from high-risk groups given the high level of immunization achieved by populations in many countries.
The need for a booster dose, between six and 12 months after the previous one, it is maintained only in groups that include the elderly, immunosuppressed and health workers, as explained at a press conference by two representatives of the WHO expert group after their meetings from March 20 to 23.
For the first time these experts, from the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccines (SAGE), they divided the population into three risk groups (high, medium and low): the need for new booster doses remains only for the first, which includes the three aforementioned groups.
“It is a reflection that a large part of the population is already vaccinated, has been infected with covid-19, or both at the same time.”, indicated Hanna Nohynek, president of SAGE.
For people at medium risk of covid-19 (adults under 60 years of age and children or adolescents with certain health problems) SAGE only recommends a first full dose of the vaccine plus another booster after the necessary period (something that in many countries has already been completed in 2022).
In the low-risk group (children and adolescents) SAGE recognizes the benefits that vaccinations and booster doses can have in their prevention, although he recommends reconsidering your immunization.
“Each country should consider its specific context when deciding whether to continue vaccinating low-risk groups such as healthy children and adolescents, while not compromising other crucial immunizations”Nohynek noted.
On the other hand, experts also recommend a booster anticovid dose six months or more from the previous one to pregnant women.
What else was discussed at the meetings?
Programs were also discussed at the meetings. global vaccination against other diseases, case of malaria, where one of the first vaccines designed against it, RTS,S, it 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, highlighted SAGE, who indicated that another 28 countries have shown their interest in introducing this product into their health networks.
The experts showed on the other hand concern about the reduction that the pandemic has produced in vaccination programs against measleswith some 25 million children affected by it, which has caused the lowest coverage rate since 2008.
