WHO Takes U-Turn on COVID-19 Booster Shots, Backs It after ‘Moratorium’ Call
© AP Photo / Lynne Sladky
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, asked for a moratorium on booster doses last year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that it strongly supports “urgent and broad access” to COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, following a U.N. agency’s repeated assertions last year that boosters were unnecessary for healthy people and contributed to vaccination inequities.
According to the AP, vaccination with authorized COVID-19 vaccines provides significant levels of protection against severe sickness and death amid the ongoing spread of the highly contagious Omicron form, according to a statement released by the WHO expert group.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, asked for a halt on booster doses last year. To address the persisting and profound inequity in global vaccine access, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has proposed a halt on booster immunization for healthy individuals until the end of 2021. (2).
While many nations are still far from meeting the aim of 40% coverage by the end of 2021, others have already immunized significantly more children and are implementing substantial booster immunization programs.
An 18-member advisory group focused on the impact of “variants of concern” — the most concerning variants, such as omicron — and assessed the vaccines’ effectiveness against them.
As per Livemint, booster doses of authorized vaccines have been shown in numerous scientific trials to help restore fading immunity and protect against significant COVID-19. Booster programs in wealthy countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States are credited with preventing omicron diseases from spreading to hospitals and cemeteries.
With 4,575 fresh cases, the cumulative Covid caseload in the country has surged to 42,975,883, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am today. The Covid-19 active cases fell below 50,000 after 665 days with 2,986 were reported in a span of 24 hours.
The death toll climbed to 5,15,355 with 145 new fatalities, according to data updated at 8 a.m.
