More data needed before COVID-19 vaccine booster call - EU regulators

More clinical and real-world data is needed on how well and for how long COVID-19 vaccines are protective before any decisions should be made on offering third or booster doses, Europe's drug regulators said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a news briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, the European Medicines Agency's head of biological health threats and vaccines strategy Marco Cavaleri cautioned against making "premature" moves to deploy booster COVID-19 shots. "We need to look into real-world evidence... to give us the data we need to know when would be the right time to give a third dose," he said.