Much of the world has decided that most young children don’t need to receive Covid booster shots. The U.S. is an outlier.

Much of the world has decided that most young children do not need to receive Covid booster shots. It’s true in Britain, France, Japan and Australia.

Some countries, like India, have gone further. They say that otherwise healthy children do not need even an initial Covid vaccination. In Germany, public health experts don’t recommend vaccines for any children, including teenagers, unless they have a medical condition.

Scientists in these countries understand that Covid vaccines are highly effective. But the experts have concluded that the benefits for children often fail to outweigh the costs.