The World Health Organization’s Vaccine Advisory Group said Tuesday that it does not recommend additional vaccinations, let alone annual COVID-19 booster shots, for people at low to moderate risk of severe illness at this time. It recommended that countries focus on strengthening high-risk populations, such as the elderly, pregnant and those with underlying medical conditions, every 6-12 months in the short to medium term.
new advice It contrasts with the plan proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which proposes treating COVID-19 boosters like annual flu shots for the foreseeable future. It floated the idea of making the latest formula available to everyone, presumably including young and healthy people, every fall.
of Opinion announced at JAMA in May last year, FDA’s top vaccine regulator, Peter Marks, along with FDA Commissioner Robert Calif and Principal Deputy Commissioner Janet Woodcock, said influenza, COVID-19, and RSV could prevent the health system from being overwhelmed. increase. And they specifically addressed the possibility of vaccinating low-risk populations.
“The benefits of administering an additional COVID-19 booster vaccine to healthy individuals aged 18 to 50 years who have already received the primary vaccination and the first booster vaccine have a more pronounced impact on hospitalizations and deaths than in other populations. risk is high,” the FDA official wrote. “However, booster vaccination may be associated with reduced health care utilization (e.g., emergency department or urgent care center visits).”
At a press conference on Tuesday, WHO advisers called the benefits of boosting low- or moderate-risk people “really very marginal” and said countries should be able to help low-risk healthy children and teens. suggested that it could even be scaled back to provide a primary COVID-19 vaccination series to the country-specific conditions and resources.
context and limitations
These updated recommendations “reflect that large portions of the population have been vaccinated, have previously had COVID-19, or both,” said immunization experts. Hanna Nohynek, chairman of a WHO advisory group called SAGE on the Strategic Advisory Group for should not do We provide boosters to lower your risk group, generally or if you need it for specific reasons such as international travel. However, the benefits of doing so are small, and the guidance as a whole states: It re-emphasizes its importance,” Nohynek added.
Specifically, WHO’s SAGE considered high-risk groups. Young adults with significant comorbidities such as diabetes or heart disease. Her 6 months or older who is immunocompromised, such as an HIV-infected person or a transplant recipient. pregnant people; and frontline health care workers.
For these high-risk groups, SAGE recommended an additional booster after the final 6-12 months given the current epidemiological situation. Advisors noted that the advice is “limited-time” in the current situation and will not be provided annually or semi-annually indefinitely. Subject to change depending on subspecies and future reductions in the spread of COVID-19.
already, England and Canada provided spring COVID-19 boosters to high-risk groups, including the elderly and immunocompromised.
This post has been updated for clarity.
