Healthy adults do not need to receive an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccines after receiving the primary vaccine and a booster first dose, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
WHO vaccine experts said the extra dose of the vaccine does not have a significant health impact for people under 60 who are considered to be at "moderate risk" as well as children and adolescents with diseases between the ages of 6 months and 17 years, noting that receiving additional doses does not entail any risks.
The recommendations of WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccination (SAGE) came after its meeting this week in Geneva, highlighting the impact of the Omicron variant and the high level of immunity currently reached by the global population due to infections and vaccination.
The team introduced 3 new categories to prioritize COVID vaccinations based on an assessment of the risk of acute injury or death: high, moderate or low.
Extra booster dose
On the other hand, older people, adults with illnesses and all immunocompromised people, pregnant women and frontline health workers are advised to receive more vaccines with an additional booster dose, after receiving the primary vaccination and the first booster dose.
The expert group recommended a 6 to 12-month interval between booster doses, depending on the diseases people experienced.
New vaccines
On the other hand, the evidence seems "inconclusive" regarding the effect of vaccines on a long Covid in which the infection often develops into very stressful symptoms such as extreme fatigue or inability to concentrate.
Some 13.3 billion doses of COVID vaccines have been injected worldwide.
The WHO is looking for new COVID vaccines, which it says are fighting a wide range of variants "and have a longer-lasting effect and are more effective against infections and infections."
WHO is also studying new ways to receive vaccines through the nose, mouth or skin.
Referring to two nasal vaccines, one of which is used in China, the executive secretary of the expert group, Joachim Humbach, said: "We know that they gain immunity (...) "But we need data that looks at the impact on transmission, because that can make a big difference."