Foreign Affairs

EU Health Agencies See ‘No Urgent Need’ For COVID-19 Boosters Among Fully Vaccinated

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The two leading European health agencies determined Thursday that COVID-19 booster shots are not necessary for fully vaccinated individuals who do not have compromised immune systems.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency issued a statement saying the current priority should be vaccinating all eligible individuals. Booster shots should be considered only for those with compromised immune systems.

EU authorities steer away from wide use of Covid booster shots https://t.co/5yuCRlQ5n8 via @naomikresge pic.twitter.com/S6Gbo5oYPT

— Zoe Schneeweiss (@ZSchneeweiss) September 2, 2021

“Based on current evidence, there is no urgent need for the administration of booster doses of vaccines to fully vaccinated individuals in the general population, according to a technical report issued by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control,” the statement read.

“Some studies report that an additional vaccine dose can improve the immune response in immunocompromised individuals, such as organ transplant recipients whose initial responses to vaccinations were low,” the health agencies said. “In such cases, the option of administering an additional dose should be considered already now.”

Additionally, the agencies recommended that the elderly could get a booster, especially those living in senior care homes.

The U.S. has already started administering a third dose of Pfizer’s, BioNTech’s, and Moderna’s vaccines to individuals with compromised immune systems, Reuters reported.

France and Germany announced they would start administering booster shots to the immunocompromised in September after the World Health Organization called for a delay in boost shots until more people get vaccinated around the world, according to Reuters.