WHO's latest Covid update dampener for vax makers

New Delhi: The recent update on Covid-19 vaccine and booster dose by the World Health Organization (WHO) can lead to reduction in global demand and revenue for vaccines against the deadly infectious disease, according to a report on Monday.

The WHO recently revised its vaccine guidance following a meeting of the agency's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE). SAGE no longer recommends annual Covid vaccine boosters for healthy adults under 60 years of age after they have received both a primary vaccine series and booster.

Further, they no longer recommend vaccinating healthy children aged six months to 17 years against Covid at all.

With the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other national health agencies following suit with similar updates, the future of Covid-19 vaccine rollouts is becoming highly uncertain, revealed the report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

"Significant drops in global demand and revenue for Covid-19 vaccines are expected in the coming years, as the threat of the pandemic winds down and vaccination guidance by health authorities loosens. The massive outbreaks caused by the Omicron variant led to the currently high levels of immunity observed in all age groups through both vaccination efforts and infections across the globe," Nancy Jaser, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, said in a statement.

"Combined with recent guidance calling for decreased use of boosters and the US Senate's decision to end the national emergency declaration early, Covid-19 revenue streams may fade quickly for vaccine developers," she added.

SAGE has also updated its guidance on bivalent Covid vaccines, now accepting the use of bivalent BA.5-specific vaccine doses for the primary series, due to the benefits observed in symptomatic disease.