The European Union's drug regulator has approved the use of booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those 18 and older but left it to individual countries to decide whether or not to recommend the shots for widespread use.
The European Medicines Agency said in a statement Monday that a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine "may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older."
"Decisions for boosters will be taken by public health bodies at the national level," it added.
The agency said people with a severely weakened immune system should be given a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least 28 days after they have received their second shot.
The guidance comes as some EU member states have already begun administering booster shots, while others are still debating how broadly to use boosters in their populations.
New Zealand's elimination strategy
In another development Monday, New Zealand announced that it would abandon its COVID-19 elimination strategy.
"This is a change in approach we were always going to make over time," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. "Our delta outbreak has accelerated this transition. Vaccines will support it."
The arrival of the highly contagious delta variant made it difficult for the country to repeat its accomplishment last year of reducing the number of COVID-19 cases to zero. Authorities reported 29 new cases on Monday.
The majority of New Zealand's COVID-19 cases were in Auckland, which has endured a 50-day lockdown.
"It's clear that a long period of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases. But it's OK ... elimination was important because we didn't have vaccinations," Ardern said during a news conference. "Now, we do. So, we can begin to change the way we do things."
The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center has recorded 4,383 COVID-19 infections in New Zealand.
Global cases
There have been 235 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and nearly 5 million deaths since the start of the pandemic, Johns Hopkins reported Monday.
In New York City, a COVID-19 vaccination requirement took effect Monday for everyone who works in the city's schools.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said 95% of public school workers had received at least one vaccine dose as of Monday morning, in line with the vaccine mandate.
School staff who do not show proof of vaccination are being placed on unpaid leave.
"Every adult in our schools is now vaccinated, and that's going to be the rule going forward," de Blasio said.
The New York City school district is the largest in the United States.
In Indonesia, officials said the country would reopen the resort island of Bali for some international travelers beginning next week.
Israel said Sunday that only people who have received two COVID-19 vaccinations and a booster shot or who have recently recovered from COVID-19 will be considered fully vaccinated on their digital vaccine passports. Officials hope the new measure will prompt Israelis to get their booster shots. Without a third dose recorded on their vaccine passport, people will not be allowed into indoor venues.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
