A World Health Organization advisory group on Thursday recommended that this year s COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants.
The agency said that people at higher risk such as the immunocompromised and those over age 65 could choose to get a second booster shot before this fall.
While the variant, called Arcturus, hasn t yet made the CDC s watchlist, a prominent pediatrician in India is seeing children with itchy or sticky eyes.
India s federal government asked states to identify emergency hotspots and ramp up-testing for COVID-19, after the country recorded its highest daily case count since September.
Last year, federal officials warned of a likely COVID-19 surge this winter. It never happened, making this the first pandemic winter without a significant spike.