Covid-19: those in high-risk group should still get extra jabs, Hong Kong experts say after WHO revises recommendations
- Those not in high-risk group can consider getting one more Covid-19 shot ‘based on personal choice’, Hong Kong medical experts say
- World Health Organization no longer recommends an extra booster dose for regular, medium-risk adults as the benefit is marginal
A joint scientific committee under the Centre for Health Protection also said on Wednesday that those not in the high-risk group could consider getting one more Covid-19 shot “based on personal choice”.
The committee’s advice, issued after a meeting of the experts on Wednesday, took into account the World Health Organization’s revised recommendations on vaccinations, overseas practice and latest scientific evidence.
The high-risk group covers people aged 50 or older, including care home residents, adults aged 18 to 49 with underlying comorbidities, those aged at least six months with immunocompromised conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers.
“This group of people can get an extra shot in 2023, no matter how many doses they have received in the past. They must wait for at least six months after the previous dose,” Professor Lau Yu-lung, chairman of the scientific committee on vaccine preventable diseases which forms part of the joint panel, told the Post.