By Robert Towey

• Dr. Kate O’Brien, the WHO’s director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals, said the organization is still researching whether a booster shot is need to increase protection.
• If the WHO endorsed a booster shot, O’Brien said it would likely only be for select groups of recipients, like the elderly.
• O’Brien said the WHO is studying the durability of the vaccines, meaning how long protection lasts, before recommending a booster.

Jack Herrington receives a dose of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine
Karen Pulfer Focht | Reuters

The World Health Organization doesn’t recommend Covid-19 booster shots “at this time,” the group’s top vaccine doctor said Wednesday, citing a lack of data on their effectiveness.

Dr. Kate O’Brien, the WHO’s director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals, said the organization is still researching whether a booster shot is needed to increase protection against highly contagious mutations of the coronavirus.

Executives from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, which make the three Covid vaccines authorized for use in the U.S., have all said Americans would eventually need a booster following their first series of vaccinations. Pfizer plans to submit its application to U.S. regulators for a booster dose in August, the company said earlier Wednesday.

“We’re very clear on this, there’s not enough information to provide a recommendation at this point,” O’Brien said in a Q&A interview posted on the organization’s social media accounts.

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Via https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/28/who-doesnt-recommend-covid-booster-doses-right-now-citing-lack-of-data.html