The
WHO said earlier this month data did not indicate a need for
booster shots, while topping up already fully vaccinated people
would further widen a vaccine-availability gap between rich and
lower-income countries.
"A third dose of vaccine is not a luxury booster (that is) taken
away from someone who is still waiting for a first jab. It's
basically a way to keep the most vulnerable safe," Hans Kluge,
head of WHO Europe, told a press briefing.
"We have to be a little bit careful with the booster shot,
because there is not yet enough evidence," he said.
"But more and more studies show that a third dose keeps
vulnerable people safe, and this is done by more and more
countries in our region," he said.
Kluge urged European countries with excess vaccines to share
them with other countries, particularly those in Eastern Europe
and Africa.
An increase in COVID-19 transmission rates across Europe over
the last two weeks, combined with low levels of vaccination in
some countries, was "deeply worrying", he said.
(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob
Gronholt-Pedersen;Editing by Nick Macfie and Bernadette Baum)
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