It is not necessary to give Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine boosters to everyone, according to Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, the scientist behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca PLC vaccine.
However, Gilbert said some vulnerable groups would need boosters.
"But I don't think we need to boost everybody. Immunity is lasting well in the majority of people," she told the Telegraph.
She called for vaccines to be sent to countries in need.
"We need to get vaccines to countries where few of the population have been vaccinated so far," she told the paper.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has already said a third dose should be offered to those with severely weakened immune systems, which amounts to around half a million people in the UK, but has not decided if boosters are needed more widely.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday he was awaiting final advice from the JCVI but was confident a booster programme would start later this month.
According to interim advice issued by the JCVI in July, over 30 million people should receive a booster jab, including all adults over 50.
The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) has approved Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and AstraZeneca as booster vaccines.