Health expert underlines 'freedom of choice' for Covid boosters as WHO stops pushing jabs

Hong Kong’s pandemic expert said on Thursday that people with a high risk of Covid infection can choose whether to get Covid vaccine boosters after the World Health Organization distinguished vaccine suggestions among different groups.  

"People in the five high-risk groups to Covid are recommended to get a booster between six and 12 months after their last vaccine dose," said Chairman of the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases Lau Yu-lung in a radio program today.

However, he stressed that the vaccine recommendation would only apply to this year and the public has the "free will" to choose whether to get inoculated.  

Lau’s suggestion came after the government's Center for Health Protection called on yesterday that people in the five high-risk groups - following WHO’s categorization - to have a booster this year.  

The five groups included people aged 50 or above or those living in residential care homes, people aged 18 to 49 with underlying comorbidities, people with immunocompromising conditions aged six months and above, pregnant women, and healthcare workers.  

However, according to the WHO’s suggestion, updated on Tuesday - people in low or middle-risk groups need not get vaccinated anymore.

"Situations now are different from the outbreak," Lau explained, "and the virus variants appear so fast that the effect of keeping new antibodies updated is minimal."  

Meanwhile, the Center for Health Protection suggested children and adolescents aged between six months to 17 years old should preferably get all three doses of Covid vaccine despite being classified as "low-risk groups" by WHO.