People aged 50 & older eligible for additional Pfizer booster shot

The Health Department has announced that people aged 50 years and older are now eligible for an additional booster shot of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

This additional booster will be available as of Monday to everyone in this age group who have completed at least 120 days or four months since they received their last Covid-19 vaccination of either Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.

Previously, South Africans were eligible to receive one booster shot after their primary vaccination of either one dose of J&J, or two doses of Pfizer.

Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said the aim of the booster shot is to get more vulnerable people vaccinated.

“This is part of efforts by the government to increase vaccine uptake to achieve population immunity while protecting the most vulnerable groups, especially those living with co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension.”  

“The Pfizer vaccine has shown to be safe and effective for boosting immunity in older persons who remain at highest risk of severe disease and death from Covid.

“Out of a total adult population of almost 20 million people who have vaccinated so far, more than 7 million of them are aged 50 years and older,” Mohale said.

The Department in collaboration with health organisation Right to Care, has also launched the FindMyJab.co.za app which it said will make it easier for anyone to find the closest vaccination site using any device such as a smartphone, laptop, tablet and other devices.

Meanwhile, the Health Department reported that 1,127 new Covid-19 infections have been recorded in the country.

A further four deaths were also reported, bringing the total to 101,317 deaths.

Gauteng is still reporting the most cases with 279 followed by the Western Cape with 248 and KwaZulu-Natal with 175 new infections.

The cumulative number of recoveries now stands at 3,836,337 with a recovery rate of 96,7%.

ALSO READ: Vaccine hesitancy: Here’s why unvaccinated South Africans refused Covid-19 jabs