Healthy kids and teens don’t need Covid vaccines: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently updated its guidance, stating that healthy children and teenagers may not require COVID-19 vaccinations.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) held a meeting last week and created a new roadmap for COVID vaccinations, which prioritizes individuals into three groups based on their risk of severe illness and death from the virus.
SAGE recommends additional booster doses for high-priority groups, including older people, immunocompromised individuals, frontline health workers, and pregnant people, but does not recommend routine additional boosters for those at medium risk.
This group includes children and adolescents with health risks and healthy adults under the age of about 60. The group suggests countries should consider vaccinating healthy children and teenagers based on factors such as disease burden and cost-effectiveness.
‘Benefits lower than those of traditional essential vaccines’
However, SAGE emphasized that the benefits of vaccinating healthy children and teenagers are lower than those of traditional essential vaccines for children, such as rotavirus, measles, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
SAGE’s guidance is based on current epidemiological conditions and may change as the pandemic evolves. Countries are making their own decisions about vaccine recommendations based on their vaccine supply and progress.
For instance, US officials are considering offering another bivalent booster to people at high risk of severe COVID-19, whereas the United Kingdom and Canada have already started offering certain individuals another bivalent booster.
Some kids should still get vaccinated
The agency stated that children with weakened immune systems or pre-existing health conditions should still receive the COVID vaccine as they have a higher risk of severe disease.
The guidance also recommends vaccinating infants under 6 months due to the burden of severe COVID-19 effects. Moreover, pregnant women should be fully vaccinated to provide full protection to both the mother and fetus.
While the change in prioritization is not equivalent to discouraging the use of COVID vaccines for these groups, the agency clarified that they should still receive the vaccine. This was emphasized by the statement given to Fox News Digital.
How many COVID shots should suffice?
According to Dr. Siegel, the question that has arisen recently is regarding the adequate number of COVID shots needed.
He noted that universities mandating vaccinations may pose a challenge, as the vaccine received two or more years ago may have almost completely worn off.
Dr. Siegel added that natural immunity acquired after infection must also be considered when counting immune protection, along with the prevalence of COVID.
Moreover, Dr. Siegel highlighted that recent studies have indicated that vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID symptoms across all ages, making it a valuable tool.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its child and adolescent immunization schedule last month to include COVID-19 vaccines.