According to WHO, booster doses are not “necessary” according to current scientific data. From a “moral and ethical” point of view, it is not good for rich countries to inject the third dose “when the rest of the world is waiting for its first injection”, the WHO said on Wednesday.
Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L), said the booster doses of COVID vaccine may not be necessary for all Britons and that the rush to roll out the third doses nationally could increase pressure on the National Health Service (NHS), the Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
“We need the weight of clinical evidence gathered from real world use before we can make an informed decision on a third dose,” Soriot wrote in the paper.
He added that “mobilising the NHS for a reinforcement programme that is not needed would potentially add an unnecessary burden on the NHS during the long winter months.”
According to WHO, booster doses are “not necessary” based on current science. From a “moral and ethical” point of view, it is not good for rich countries to inject the third dose “when the rest of the world is waiting for its first injection”, the WHO said on Wednesday.
Several countries have already opted for a recall campaign.
Shortly after these statements, the United States announced a recall campaign for Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid vaccines at the end of September, as health authorities were concerned that the immune protection provided by the vaccines was waning over time. However, the recall campaign is still pending approval of an additional dose by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
France has opted to inject third doses for the elderly and frail this autumn.
