Inspite of the World Health Organization (WHO) urging developed countries to refrain from going after a ‘booster shot’ of COVID19 jabs and contribute their surplus vaccines to the less developed nations, the United States Centre for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) today recommended the shots for a better protection against coronavirus.

“Our top priority remains staying ahead of the virus and protecting the American people from COVID-19 with safe, effective, and long-lasting vaccines especially in the context of a constantly changing virus and epidemiologic landscape,” the official CDC statement noted.

“We will continue to follow the science on a daily basis, and we are prepared to modify this plan should new data emerge that requires it,” it added. The decision is touted to have been taken in the wake of the the delta variant outbreak.

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The top American public health body has advised the booster shots at least eight months after receiving the second dose of the American vaccines i.e. Pfizer and Moderna. It also stated that people who have received a single dose-vaccine (Janssen) should also get the booster shots.

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In a statement, officials were quoted that it is ‘very clear’ that the vaccines’ protection against infection weakens over time, and now, with the highly contagious delta variant spreading rapidly, “we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease.”

The US decision to go for the booster shots met with bitter opposition from scientists at the WHO. The shots are expected to be available in the US after September 20.

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“We’re planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while we’re leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket,” Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief was quoted.

The organisation’s top scientist, Soumya Swaminathan who has been opposing the vaccine inequity ever since the first COVID19 vaccines arrived last year, said: “We believe clearly that the data does not indicate that boosters are needed” for everyone. She warned that leaving billions of people in the developing world unvaccinated could foster the emergence of new variants and result in “even more dire situations.”

What does WHO exactly say about booster shots?

Meanwhile, the WHO has clarified today that the present data does not indicate that coronavirus booster shots are required, adding that the most vulnerable people worldwide should be fully vaccinated before high-income countries begin to go for these shots.

WHO chief scientist Swaminathan, when asked about the need for boosters to increase protection against the disease, told a Geneva press meet: “We believe clearly that the data today does not indicate that boosters are needed.”