Ignoring WHO call, Germany, France to give COVID-19 vaccine boosters

FILE PHOTO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Judo - Men's 60kg - Last 32 - Nippon Budokan - Tokyo, Japan - July 24, 2021. France's President Emmanuel Macron wearing a protective face mask watches judo REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany and France will go ahead with COVID-19 vaccine boosters from September, disregarding an appeal by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to hold off until more people are vaccinated across the globe.

The decision to press ahead with booster shots despite the strongest statement yet from the WHO highlights the challenge of dealing with a global pandemic while countries try to protect their own citizens from the more infectious Delta variant.