Booster shots of COVID vaccine to at-risk groups

Kuwait is likely to begin administering a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to at-risk groups by next month, a local newspaper reported.

A health official said that those that will be receiving the booster shot are organ transplant patients, oncology patients and those with low or compromised immunity.

The decision comes as last week the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged countries to hold back on giving out booster shots at least until the end of September, as lower-income countries struggle and are experiencing shortages.

Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that they have amended the emergency authorisation of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine so that high risk individuals can get a booster shot of the vaccine.

So far, Kuwait has administered the Pfizer vaccine, but the Ministry of Health has placed an order to receive two million doses of the Moderna vaccine.