Persons aged 50 and over are entitled to an additional booster shot with Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination



That health department has announced that people aged 50 and over are now eligible for an additional booster shot of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.

This additional booster shot will be available starting Monday for everyone in that age group who has been at least 120 days or four months since they received their last Covid-19 shot with Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.

Previously, South Africans were entitled to a booster shot after their primary course of either one dose of J&J or two doses of Pfizer.

Health Department spokesman Foster Mohale said the aim of the booster shot was to vaccinate more vulnerable people.

“This is part of the government’s effort to increase vaccine uptake to achieve population immunity while protecting the most vulnerable groups, particularly those living with comorbidities such as diabetes and high blood pressure.”

“Pfizer’s vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective in boosting immunity in the elderly, who remain at the highest risk of serious illness and death from Covid.

“Out of a total adult population of nearly 20 million people who have been vaccinated to date, more than 7 million are aged 50 and over,” Mohale said.

The ministry, in partnership with the healthcare organization Right to Care, has also launched the FindMyJab.co.za app, which will make it easier for anyone to find the nearest vaccination center using any device such as a smartphone, laptop, tablet and other devices.

Meanwhile, the health department reported that 1,127 new Covid-19 infections were registered in the country.

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

Gauteng continues to report the most cases with 279, followed by the Western Cape with 248 and KwaZulu-Natal with 175 new infections.

The total number of recoveries is now 3,836,337 with a 96.7% recovery rate.

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