WHO updates COVID-19 vaccination guidance

WHO updates COVID-19 vaccination guidance

The World Health Organization (WHO) has up to date its COVID-19 vaccination suggestions, saying wholesome kids and adolescents could not essentially want a vaccine, whereas the aged and at-risk teams ought to obtain a further booster dose six to 12 months after their final dose.

The replace got here on Tuesday after WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) assembly on March 20-23.

They revised the roadmap for prioritizing using COVID-19 vaccines, to mirror the affect of the omicron pressure and excessive population-level immunity attributable to an infection and vaccination, WHO mentioned in a press release.

It outlines three priority-use teams for COVID-19 vaccination: excessive, medium, and low.

The high-priority group consists of older adults, youthful adults with important comorbidities, folks with immunocompromising circumstances — together with kids aged 6 months and older — pregnant individuals, and frontline well being staff, in line with the assertion.

For these teams, SAGE recommends a further booster six to 12 months after the final dose.

The medium-priority group consists of wholesome adults — normally below the age of 50-60 — it mentioned, and added that the advice for them is main sequence and first booster doses.

“Although additional boosters are safe for this group, SAGE does not routinely recommend them, given the comparatively low public health returns,” it mentioned.

Regarding the low-priority group, which incorporates wholesome kids and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years, it mentioned: “Primary and booster doses are safe and effective in children and adolescents. However, considering the low burden of disease, SAGE urges countries considering vaccination of this age group to base their decisions on contextual factors, such as the disease burden, cost-effectiveness, and other health or programmatic priorities and opportunity costs.”

“Countries should consider their specific context in deciding whether to continue vaccinating low risk groups, like healthy children and adolescents, while not compromising the routine vaccines that are so crucial for the health and well-being of this age group,” SAGE chair Dr. Hanna Nohynek mentioned.

Source: www.anews.com.tr