Healthy children and adolescents may no longer need Covid shots, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, updating its guidance on vaccines as the world adjusts to living permanently with the virus.
Older people and higher-risk groups — including those with underlying conditions — should get Covid boosters between six and 12 months after their last injections, the WHO said in a statement announcing a revised vaccine road map for the new stage of the pandemic.
“Countries should consider their specific context in deciding whether to continue vaccinating low-risk groups, like healthy children and adolescents, while not compromising the routine vaccines that are so crucial for the health and well-being of this age group,” said Hanna Nohynek, chair of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.
The Geneva-based organization’s latest advice comes as booster rates fall in countries from China to the US, with just 16 per cent of Americans lining up for the latest round of shots targeting the omicron variant, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.