Coronavirus booster shots 'not a luxury', WHO Europe head says

FILE PHOTO: Hans Kluge, World Health Organization regional director for Europe, attends a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, Russia September 23, 2020. Sputnik/Alexander Astafyev/Pool via REUTERS

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -A third-dose booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccination is a way to keep the most vulnerable safe and "not a luxury", the World Health Organization said on Monday.

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.