In August, the head of the World Health Organization condemned plans to widely distribute booster shots in wealthy countries, calling for a moratorium. The shots would yield a far greater return if they were administered as first and second doses in developing nations, where new variants are more likely to emerge as the virus circulates more widely, the WHO said.
“As we’ve seen from the emergence of variant after variant, we cannot get out of it unless the whole world gets out of it together,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, a WHO special adviser. “And with the huge disparity in vaccination coverage, we’re simply not going to be able to achieve that.”