There is currently no evidence that Covid-19 booster shots should be administered to healthy children and adolescents, the WHO’s top scientists said. The organization is still trying to work out the appropriate booster schedule.
“The aim is to protect the most vulnerable, to protect those at highest risk of severe disease and dying, those are our elderly population, immunocompromised with underlying conditions and also health care workers,” WHO chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said at a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that “there’s no evidence right now” for administering them to otherwise healthy children and teens.
The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization will meet later this week to consider how governments should think about boosters, Swaminathan said.
Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO’s executive director for health emergencies, said the organization hasn’t figured out yet how many doses people may ultimately need.