The World Health Organization (WHO) announced latest vaccination guidance because the world continues to grapple with Omicron and its subvariants.
In a news release Tuesday, the WHO said its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) revised the roadmap for prioritizing the usage of the vaccines to reflect the impact of omicron alongside the immunity caused by infection and vaccination.
SAGE’s revision focused on prioritizing the protection of populations at the best risk of severe infection and death from SARS-CoV-2, the virus chargeable for COVID-19.
Based on the brand new guidance, the organization will now consider the cost-effectiveness of the vaccination for people at low risk, including healthy children and adults. The roadmap also includes updated recommendations on additional booster shots and the spacing of those boosters.
“Updated to reflect that much of the population is either vaccinated or previously infected with COVID-19, or each, the revised roadmap reemphasizes the importance of vaccinating those still prone to severe disease, mostly older adults and people with underlying conditions, including with additional boosters,” SAGE Chair Dr. Hanna Nohynek said within the news release.
“Countries should consider their specific context in deciding whether to proceed vaccinating low-risk groups, like healthy children and adolescents, while not compromising the routine vaccines which are so crucial for the health and well-being of this age group,” she added.
With the updated guidance, healthy children, adolescents and adults may not need additional booster shots. Only the high-risk adults will get a booster every 6 to 12 months after their last vaccine shot, as per CBC.ca.
The revised roadmap seemingly coincided with WHO’s statement last September that the COVID-19 pandemic could end soon. During Tuesday’s briefing, the organization admitted that the brand new guidance only reflected the present situation; it didn’t include a long-term plan for annual boosters.
Reacting to the brand new vaccination guidance, Dr. Todd Ellerin, South Shore Health director of infectious diseases, told WCVB that the changes “make sense,” and he hopes the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would follow them too.
“I believe it is sensible for anyone to likely need an annual booster. But again, when you are a young, healthy child, you may make an argument, especially when you are in a resource-limited setting,” he explained.
Ellerin noted that they’re still waiting for a proper announcement from the CDC regarding the second bivalent booster. The U.K. and Canada are already rolling out spring boosters for high-risk people, so he’s hopeful the U.S. would follow suit.
Pictured: A health employee administers a dose of the Novavax vaccine because the Dutch Health Service Organization starts with the Novavax vaccination program on March 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands.
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