WHO "Young People Should Wait Until 2022 for COVID-19 Vaccine"

"Health Officials, Frontline Workers, Vulnerable Groups Prioritized for Vaccination"
CDC, "No Clinical Trials Yet for Children... No Recommendation"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that even if a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine becomes available, priority vaccination will be given to healthcare workers and vulnerable groups, and young people will likely have difficulty receiving the vaccine until 2022, two years later. Due to delays such as the temporary suspension of clinical trials for vaccines under development, it is expected that only about one vaccine with verified safety and efficacy will be available by next year, making production insufficient even to vaccinate priority groups.

According to foreign media including CNBC, on the 14th (local time), Sumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist, said at a briefing held at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, "It is expected that at least one safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine will be available worldwide by next year, but only a limited quantity will be provided," adding, "The general public and healthy young people will have to wait until 2022 to receive the vaccine." She emphasized, "WHO and the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization, composed of vaccination experts, are setting vaccination priorities," and "healthcare workers, frontline workers, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups will be vaccinated first."

She also predicted that vaccination would not necessarily improve all situations. Scientist Swaminathan stated, "The vaccine does not guarantee perfect efficacy or confirmed safety against COVID-19," and "Some people tend to think that once the COVID-19 vaccine, expected to be released on January 1 or April 1 next year, is administered, everything will return to normal, but it will not work that way."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on the same day that vaccination is not recommended immediately after release for children. The CDC said, "So far, clinical trials for children under 12 years old have not yet been conducted," and "Some pharmaceutical companies plan to expand clinical trial participants to include pediatric patients in the future, and vaccination recommendations for children will be determined after clinical results are available." It is known that Pfizer and AstraZeneca, currently conducting Phase 3 clinical trials, have announced plans to include pediatric patients among their future trial participants.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.