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The latest WHO intervention comes at a time when many countries have begun or are considering launching enhanced injections. Israel started its third injection last month, and France, Germany and the UAE have all announced plans to launch booster programs. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, are still considering it. The United States has purchased additional doses of Pfizer vaccine preparations, but has not yet made any decision on whether to start rolling out these vaccines.
The science on whether boosters are needed is still uncertain. Kate O’Brien, WHO’s immunization director, told reporters at the meeting: “The evidence is constantly changing, and it is changing.” “We don’t have complete evidence on whether this is needed.”
Pfizer Data released last month Shows that the third shot provides a powerful additional protection to the delta variant. But existing vaccine programs have been shown to provide good protection against all major variants of concern.
Nevertheless, WHO hopes to refocus its attention on getting a larger proportion of vaccination in the world before countries consider any form of supplementation. The agency’s goal is to vaccinate 40% of the world’s population by the end of this year, and 70% by the middle of 2022.
Tan Desai urged vaccine manufacturers to focus on donating to Covax, a program designed to distribute vaccines to poorer countries. Last week, he said that the plan requires a large injection of funds to achieve its goals.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the WHO had made a “wrong choice”. Tell the Associated Press The United States will have enough vaccines to donate to poorer countries, while also being able to launch boosters when needed.
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