WHO experts say repeating booster shots not appropriate

World Health Organisation experts warned on Tuesday that repeating booster doses of the original Covid vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants.

“A vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable,” the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Covid-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-Co-VAC) said in a statement.

It said preliminary data indicates that the existing vaccines were less effective at preventing symptomatic Covid disease in people who have contracted the new Omicron variant, currently spreading like wildfire around the world.

It recommended developing vaccines that not only protect people against falling seriously ill but could also better prevent infection and transmission in the first place.