Coronavirus: too early to tell if vaccine booster shots are needed, WHO chief scientist says
- Soumya Swaminathan says calling for boosters is ‘premature’ while high-risk individuals in most of the world have not yet received their first dose
- Data from countries introducing precautionary extra inoculations later this year will inform WHO’s guidance, she says
“We do not have the information that’s necessary to make the recommendation on whether or not a booster will be needed,” Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO’s chief scientist, said in a Zoom interview on Friday. The “science is still evolving”.
Such a call is “premature” while high-risk individuals in most of the world have not yet completed a first course of vaccination, Swaminathan said.
Data from countries introducing precautionary extra inoculations later this year – particularly for vulnerable people whose immunity to Covid-19 may wane faster – will inform WHO’s guidance, she said.
Covid-19 booster shots are likely to be rolled out in Britain in the fall to avoid another winter surge. Seven different vaccines are being tested in volunteers in England in the world’s first booster study, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last month.
The UK, which has inoculated a larger proportion of people than any other major economy, has been forced to delay a planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions amid a resurgence of cases driven by the delta variant. The strain, first reported in India, is the most infectious reported to date.
More-transmissible variants, including the beta strain that emerged in South Africa, require higher antibody levels to prevent infection, prompting vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna to test whether tweaked versions of their existing shots will provide broader immunity.