■ The World Health Organization suggests even better vaccines are in our future,

Vaccines also could include different deliveries than shots.

New COVID- 19 vaccines, i ncluding ones that don’t require needles and can be stored at room temperature, may be ready for use later this year or next year, the World Health Organization’s top scientist said.

Six to eight new immunizations may complete clinical studies and undergo regulatory review by the end of the year, Soumya Swaminathan, the Geneva- based agency’s chief scientist, said in an interview Saturday.

New vaccines will add to the 10 already shown to work within a year of COVID- 19 being declared a pandemic. The world needs more immunizations, especially as the virus’ continuous circulation spawns dangerous new variants and drugmakers struggle to meet orders. Only 122 countries have started immunizing people, according to data collected by Bloomberg.

“We’re thrilled with the vaccines that we have,” said Swaminathan, an Indian pediatrician best known for her research on tuberculosis and HIV. But “we can improve further,” she said. “I think, well into 2022, we’re going to see the emergence of improved vaccines.”

The current crop of experimental vaccines use alternative technologies and delivery systems, and include more single- shot inoculations, and vaccines that are administered orally, via a nasal spray, and through the skin using a type of patch. These could bring immunizations that are better suited to specifific groups, such as pregnant women, according to Swaminathan.

More than 80 candidate vaccines are being studied in people, though some are still in the early stages of testing and may not be successful. Companies with COVID- 19 vaccines already in use have also begun testing updated versions designed to thwart variants of the coronavirus that have emerged in recent months.

“We need to continue to support the research and development of more vaccine candidates, especially as the need for ongoing booster immunization of populations is still not very clear at this point,” Swaminathan said. “So we need to be prepared for that in the future.”

The WHO’S strategic advisory group of experts on immunization is reviewing whether people who have been infected with COVID19 need to have two doses.