WHO has advised against the administration of a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine for now

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday called on member countries to be “extremely careful” and “not be tempted” to start giving third boosters of coronavirus vaccines, which he says will not help balance the global distribution of doses.

Scientific data “do not justify for the moment” this booster dose, which “also increases inequalities” at a time when many developing countries have yet to immunize their most vulnerable populations, warned Dr. Didier Houssin, Chairman of the WHO Emergency Committee for COVID-19.

The committee, which meets approximately every three months to analyze the pandemic situation, also recommended that WHO member countries For now, “seriously consider” the maintenance of physical distancing measures, at a time of increasing cases and the rise of the contagious variant of the delta.

In its recommendations at the end of its eighth meeting, the committee also calls on all governments to support the WHO in its call to achieve, through better global distribution of vaccines, this at least 10% of the population of all countries are vaccinated in September.

A few days ago, the WHO specified that people vaccinated against the coronavirus they should not unilaterally decide to mix doses from different manufacturers, but should follow the advice of public health agencies. “Individuals should not decide for themselves, but public health agencies can, based on the available data, ”said the WHO chief scientist. Soumya Swaminathan.

The expert pointed out that research results are still awaited in this regard with different vaccines, in which advised to also measure the effect of these mixtures in the immunization of the body against the coronavirus.

Doubts about the combination of different vaccines resurfaced following the clinical tests from the University of Oxford showing a higher likelihood of fever and other mild side effects in patients over 50 years of age who first received one dose of AstraZeneca and then another of Pfizer-BioNTech.

A month ago, WHO advisers, after reviewing previous clinical trials, gave the green light to this combination (a first dose of AstraZeneca and a second of Pfizer-BioNTech) in case of lack of vaccine supply from the Swedish-British manufacturer.

Previously, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, He asked China on Thursday for more transparency when reporting the first cases of COVID-19, and warned that knowing the origins of the coronavirus “is an unpaid debt with millions of people who have suffered from it.”

The CEO also admitted that “Laboratory accidents can happen” and he assured that he himself, working in such facilities in the past as an expert in immunology, had made a mistake. “It is important to review what happened in the laboratories, and we need direct information on the situation of these facilities before the pandemic and at the start of it,” he concluded.

Tedros’ statements are a stark change in tone after months in which he refused to comment publicly on the lab’s theory or the attitude of the Chinese authorities in the investigations, which began months late and enough obstacles for the experts of the WHO and other agencies.

Following the visit of these experts to Wuhan earlier this year, a report was released indicating that the most likely hypothesis of the origin of the coronavirus was that it had been transmitted to humans of wild animals via one or more species which served as intermediaries.

Research also indicated that the least probable hypothesis was the original one in the laboratoryHe also did not consider contagion from imported frozen foods to be too plausible, a theory frequently defended by Chinese state media.

(With information from EFE)

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