Everyone, everywhere, should have access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Major progress has been made with the COVID-19 vaccination response, and it is critical to continue the progress, particularly for those most at risk of disease.
WHO recommends a simplified single-dose regime for primary immunization for most COVID-19 vaccines which would improve acceptance and uptake and provide adequate protection at a time when most people have had at least one prior infection.
Available data suggest the monovalent Omicron XBB vaccines provide modestly enhanced protection compared to bivalent variant-containing vaccines and monovalent index virus vaccines.
When monovalent XBB vaccines are not available, any available WHO emergency-use listed or prequalified vaccine, bivalent variant-containing or monovalent index virus vaccines, may be used since they continue to provide benefits against severe disease in high-risk groups.
Other resources
Criteria for COVID-19 vaccine prioritization
The proposed attributes and criteria provide considerations for the evaluation and prioritization of COVID-19 candidate vaccines to be considered for further development by WHO. The target audience includes vaccine scientists, product developers, manufacturers, regulators and funding agencies.
Vaccine target product profile
WHO has published the target product profiles for COVID-19 vaccines, which describes the preferred and minimally acceptable profiles for human vaccines for long term protection of persons at high ongoing risk of COVID-19, and for reactive use in outbreak settings with rapid onset of immunity. We have also published the criteria for prioritization of vaccines for clinical trials.