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The World Health Organisation has tailored its COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for a new phase of the pandemic, suggesting that healthy children and adolescents may not necessarily need a shot but older, high-risk groups should get a booster between six to 12 months after their last vaccine.

The United Nations agency said the aim was to focus efforts on vaccinating those facing the greatest threat of severe disease and death from COVID-19, considering the high-level population immunity worldwide due to widespread infection and vaccination.

The health agency defined high-risk populations as older adults as well as younger people with other significant risk factors.

For this group, the agency recommends an additional shot of the vaccine either six or 12 months after the latest dose, based on factors such as age and immunocompromising conditions.

It also said healthy children and adolescents were "low priority" for COVID-19 vaccination and urged countries to consider factors like disease burden before recommending vaccination of this group.

It said the COVID-19 vaccines and boosters were safe for all ages but the recommendations took into account other factors like cost-effectiveness.

The WHO said in September last year that the end of the pandemic was "in sight".

In a briefing on Tuesday, the agency said its latest advice reflected the current disease picture and global immunity levels but should not be seen as long-term guidance over whether annual boosters would be needed.

The recommendations come as countries take differing approaches.

Some high-income countries like the United Kingdom and Canada are already offering those at high-risk COVID-19 boosters this spring in the northern hemisphere, six months after their last dose.

"The revised roadmap re-emphasises the importance of vaccinating those still at-risk of severe disease," said Hanna Nohynek, chair of the WHO's Strategic Group of Experts on immunisation, which made the recommendations.

The committee also called for urgent efforts to catch up on routine vaccinations missed during the pandemic and warned of a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.

For COVID-19, it said that vaccines beyond the initial two shots and a booster were no longer routinely recommended for those at "medium risk" as benefits were marginal.

© RAW 2023

Consumer prices are expected to keep sinking from their peak as inflationary pressures start to ebb.

The monthly consumer price index, introduced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to supplement the less volatile quarterly version, is tipped to keep falling from its December peak of 8.4 per cent annual growth.

NAB economists anticipate the monthly indicator to slide to 7.2 per cent annual growth in February from 7.4 per cent in January, in line with consensus.

Commonwealth Bank economists anticipate a softer 6.9 per cent year-on-year lift in the monthly gauge in February.

The indicator, which measures the change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households, was flagged by the Reserve Bank as one of the key pieces of economic data to absorb ahead of the April cash rate.

Retail trade, another important source of data for the RBA, came in basically flat in line with expectations, lifting a modest 0.2 per cent in February.

© AAP 2023

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has delighted in Australia's learning experience and unearthing of depth against Ecuador as he turns his focus to the start of a new World Cup cycle and next year's Asian Cup.

Arnold shrugged off a difficult 2-1 loss in the second match in Melbourne, four days after a 3-1 victory in Sydney, instead savouring his four debutants and building depth.

"It was a great series. It's a great opportunity to give some of the young boys an opportunity and also to see what it takes to be top players," he said.

"A team in South America that finished fourth in their qualifiers. They did well at the World Cup.

"These types of things are great learning experiences for the players. We set a challenge for the boys at the start of the camp of winning the series.

"So, me being positive, we won the series: one win each, we scored four goals and they scored three."

Arnold delighted in goalkeeper Joe Gauci's debut while Alex Robertson, Aiden O'Neill and Jordan Bos all showed signs in their respective first games.

"I see this as a fantastic 10 days," Arnold said.

"We found players. We found three, four or five kids that can handle the level. And they're only going to get better. But we need to expose them to these types of things.

"When you see players that can deal with those types of teams and those types of players, you just know that the future is bright for the kids.

"Before the camp, it was about finding some more players and getting players ready for it. Which players could step up? It's been a win, for me."

Arnold noted his players would learn from Ecuador's physicality but said they got far more out of their two games than they would have against a weaker opponent.

European-based Socceroos were due to fly home early Wednesday morning.

That includes midfielder Riley McGree, who will switch his focus back to Middlesbrough's bid for promotion to the Premier League.

"I've got high expectations of myself, that I want to set the bar as high as I can and do things that I've dreamed of doing," he said.

The Socceroos hope to play two games at home in the June window but are yet to lock in opponents.

They are also eyeing action in September before taking on England at Wembley in October.

Arnold will stay in Australia to watch the A-League Men finals while deferring scouting responsibilities in Europe to assistant Rene Meulensteen.

The Socceroos are expected to continue their attempts to woo prospects and Italian youth internationals Cristian Volpato and Alessandro Circati.

© AAP 2023