Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

COVID-19: Third coronavirus vaccines aren't 'luxury boosters' taken from people without their first, WHO Europe boss says

COVID-19: Third coronavirus vaccines aren't 'luxury boosters' taken from people without their first, WHO Europe boss says

Hans Kluge also told a news briefing on Monday that waning vaccine uptake across Europe over the past six weeks is of "serious concern".

Third coronavirus vaccines are not "luxury boosters" making vaccine inequity worse but a means of keeping the vulnerable safe, WHO's Europe director has said.

Hans Kluge appeared to contradict his World Health Organisation (WHO) colleagues at a news briefing on Monday, saying third COVID-19 jabs are an important way of protecting the most clinically vulnerable.

Earlier this month, WHO senior officials criticised countries such as the US and Israel for rolling out a booster vaccine programme, when many people across the world have had no jabs at all.

Hans Kluge, WHO director for Europe, claims vaccine uptake has slowed in the past six weeks


But Mr Kluge said: "A third dose of vaccine is not a luxury booster [that is] taken away from someone who is still waiting for a first jab. It's basically a way to keep the most vulnerable safe."

He urged caution, saying more evidence is needed to support a full rollout, but added: "More and more studies show that a third dose keeps vulnerable people safe, and this is done by more and more countries in our region."
Advertisement

He also said that 33 out of 53 countries in WHO's Europe region have had at least a 10% increase in coronavirus cases in the past two weeks.

Rapidly rising cases and hospital admissions combined with a considerable slowdown of vaccine uptake in the past six weeks is "deeply worrying", he added.

Several European countries have seen widespread anti-vaccination protests in recent weeks.

On Sunday, thousands marched through Berlin for a second day to demonstrate against vaccines and restrictions aimed at preventing a fourth wave

Protesters in Paris hold 'no to the health passport' signs


In France, protests against the "pass sanitaire" have been going on for more than seven weeks.

President Emmanuel Macron introduced the measure to make it mandatory for workers in public-facing roles to prove full vaccination or a negative test result within the past 72 hours.

Meanwhile, Mr Kluge said that several countries are experiencing an increased burden on hospitals as a result of the virus, with summer holidays making the situation worse.

The UK government says it will start rolling out third vaccines to the most clinically vulnerable from September.

So far, 42.6 million people have received both doses.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×