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Updated coronavirus vaccines, not repeated boosters, needed for Omicron, WHO experts say
- A group created to assess the performance of Covid-19 shots says simply providing additional doses is not a viable strategy against emerging variants
- It is calling for new jabs that not only protect against serious illness but also better prevent people from catching the virus in the first place
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WHO experts warned on Tuesday that repeating booster doses of the original Covid-19 vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants like Omicron and called for new jabs that better protect against transmission.
An expert group created by the World Health Organization to assess the performance of Covid-19 vaccines said simply providing fresh jabs of existing Covid-19 vaccines as new strains of the virus emerge was not the best way to fight the pandemic.
“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.
The group said there could be a need to update the existing vaccines to better target emerging Covid-19 variants, like Omicron which has spread rapidly and has been detected in 149 countries so far.
And it called for the development of new jabs that not only protect people who contract Covid-19 against falling seriously ill but also better prevent people from catching the virus in the first place.
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