Covid booster shot not needed for everyone, Oxford vaccine creator says

World Health Organization (WHO) has urged western countries to not start the booster programme yet as several poorer countries have been unable to vaccinate even the vulnerable population.

Now, Oxford vaccine’s creator, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, has also backed WHO and said booster shots are not needed for everyone.

"We need to get vaccines to countries where few of the population have been vaccinated so far," Gilbert said.

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She agreed that some vulnerable groups might need booster shots all around the world, but also added that immunity was "lasting well"in majority of the cases. This rules out the need for a booster shot for everyone.

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"We will look at each situation; the immunocompromised and elderly will receive boosters," Gilbert, the creator of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine said. "But I don't think we need to boost everybody. Immunity is lasting well in the majority of people."

Her statement has come at a time when Israel has already started vaccinating booster shot to all eligible citizens. Some other countries, such as the UK, too, are mulling over booster campaign.

UK's health secretary Sajid Javid has said he is still awaiting the final advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). However, he has also assured that the booster campaign will most probably start by the end of this month.

JCVI experts have suggested that booster shot should be administered to people with severe weak immune system and life-threatening diseases, and all citizens above the age of 50.

Meanwhile, Gilbert has also urged the UK government to help other countries in procuring coronavirus vaccines so that they can at least vaccinate the vulnerable population. "We have to do better in this regard. The first dose has the most impact,"Gilbert said.