Covid booster shots may be less successful against new variants
Experts have warned that repeating booster doses may not be a viable strategy for future variants.
Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that repeated booster shots are not an effective strategy against new variants.
In a statement published on Tuesday, experts called for increased protection and detailed that “a vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable."
WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-Co-VAC) is advocating for new vaccines that will prevent people from contracting the virus at all, as opposed to offering increased protection from the infection.
According to the group, “COVID-19 vaccines that have high impact on prevention of infection and transmission, in addition to the prevention of severe disease and death, are needed and should be developed," adding that this would lower transmission and the need for "broad-reaching public health and social measures."
The WHO reports that 331 new vaccine trials are being experimented with globally to ensure long-lasting and strong immune responses. The UN health agency has approved 8.
Omicron-speficic vaccine
Due to the scale of infectiousness of Omicron variant, Pfizer's chief executive Albert Bourla stressed the implementation of a new vaccine to target the variant specifically.
“We’re working on higher doses. We’re working on different schedules. We’re doing a lot of things right now, as we speak.”
In an interview with CNBC, Bourla said the jab could be ready for distribution by June.
Last month, the WHO reported the Omicron variant was spreading at an unprecedented rate, urging countries to act fast to limit the transmission of the variant and protect health systems.
More than 150,000 people have died after catching the coronavirus in the UK, the government said Saturday, in a tragic milestone for one of the worst affected countries in Europe.
The government reported that deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test have reached 150,057 since the start of the pandemic.
On Saturday, the UK became the seventh country to pass 100,000 deaths following the US, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico, and Peru, and the first European country to pass this death toll, reported The Guardian.
