Covid booster programmes may “prolong the pandemic”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) boss has predicted.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a stark warning about the booster rollout as he told wealthy nations they couldn’t “boost its way out of the pandemic”.
During a news conference, he said: “Blanket booster programmes are likely to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than ending it, by diverting supply to countries that already have high levels of vaccination coverage, giving the virus more opportunity to spread and mutate.”
He urged countries and manufacturers to prioritise rolling out vaccines to poorer nations.
“No country can boost its way out of the pandemic,” he said.
“And boosters cannot be seen as a ticket to go ahead with planned celebrations without the need for other precautions.”
It comes as the UK recorded 106,022 Covid cases in new daily record as Omicron cases jump before Christmas.
