Do You need a third dose of Covid Vaccine?
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended that people with moderate and severely weakened immunity should be offered COVID-19 booster shots.
After four days of talks last week, the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (Sage) on Monday recommended that such people should get the third dose of the vaccine on the WHO’s Emergency Use List (UEL) because such people are at high risk. live.
Since late September, several COVID-19 vaccines have been certified by WHO UEL, including Pfizer-BioNtech, Janssen, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac, AstraZeneca and Covishield.
Sage said it has also reviewed the covaccine made by India’s Bharat Biotech, and will issue a policy recommendation once the vaccine is approved by WHO UEL.
WHO experts said the third dose of Chinese Sinovac and Sinoform inactivated virus vaccines should be given to those over 60.
“When implementing this recommendation, countries should initially aim to maximize two-dose coverage in that population, and then administer a third dose starting in the oldest age groups,” Sage said.
The WHO had earlier called for a global moratorium on COVID-19 booster doses, aiming to enable every country to vaccinate at least 40 percent of its population for more equitable distribution of vaccines globally.
Last week, the organization announced initiatives to vaccinate 40 percent of each country’s population against COVID-19 by the end of 2021 and 70 percent by the middle of 2022. The campaign will prioritize vaccine delivery in low-income countries, especially in Africa.
