Covid-19: Annual vaccine booster probably needed for vulnerable groups, says WHO

A health worker prepares a dose of AstraZeneca vaccine against the Covid-19 at the Central Vaccination Centere, inside the Bang Sue Grand Station, Thailand, on Monday (June 21, 2021). - Reuters

BRUSSELS (Reuters): The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that people most vulnerable to Covid-19, such as the elderly, will need to get an annual vaccine booster to be protected against variants, an internal document seen by Reuters shows.

The estimate is included in a report, which is to be discussed on Thursday (June 24) at a board meeting of Gavi, a vaccine alliance that co-leads the WHO's Covid-19 vaccine programme Covax. The forecast is subject to changes and is also paired with two other less likely scenarios.