WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that COVID-19 booster shots should be delayed as priority should be given to raising vaccination rates in countries where only 1% or 2% of the population has been inoculated.

He says if vaccination rates are not raised globally, stronger variants of the coronavirus could develop and vaccines intended as booster shots should be donated to countries where people have not received their first or second doses, during a visit to Budapest.

Ghebreyesus added "In addition, there is a debate about whether booster shots are effective at all" 

The WHO said last week current data does not indicate that COVID-19 booster shots are needed and that the most vulnerable people worldwide should be fully vaccinated before high-income countries deploy a top-up.

Last week, the United States announced that it plans to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots widely available starting on September 20.