Current data does not indicate that COVID-19 booster shots are needed, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Wednesday. The comments came just before the US government said it planned to make the booster shots widely available to all Americans starting on Sept. 20 as infections from the Delta variant of the coronavirus rise. WHO chief scientist asked about the need for boosters to increase protection against the disease, told a press conference: "We believe clearly that the data today does not indicate that boosters are needed." WHO adviser Bruce Aylward, referring to booster shots being administered in high-income countries, said: "There is enough vaccine around the world, but it is not going to the right places in the right order." Two doses should be given to the most vulnerable worldwide before boosters are administered to those fully-vaccinated, he said, adding: "We are a long, long way from that." — Agencies