Cape Town - The National Health Department announced that the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) boosters will now be made available for all eligible individuals as of today.
Booster doses are used to increase immunity against Covid-19 by providing an additional dose of the Covid-19 vaccine following primary vaccination.
The announcement comes after Health Minister Joe Paahla had been advised by the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines for Covid-19 (VMAC) on booster vaccines.
This is after the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) approved the use of the single-dose (J&J) vaccine for boosters at least two months after primary vaccination with the J&J vaccine.
Earlier, Sahpra approved the Pfizer vaccine as booster doses for the twodose Pfizer vaccine for health-care workers and immuno-compromised individuals, six months after their primary vaccination.
As of today, the National Vaccination Programme will provide J&J booster vaccinations to anyone who received their last dose at least two months earlier (October 24).
The recommended interval is after two months but preferably before six months from the primary dose, the Department of Health said in a statement released on Thursday.
From December 28, the National Vaccination Programme will provide Pfizer booster vaccinations to anyone who received their last dose at least six months after their primary dose.
National Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale said: “According to scientific evidence, boosters are needed at some stage of the pandemic, especially due to emerging new variants. Booster doses are safe and provide protection against severe infections, they enhance protection against infection, severe disease and death.
“They reduce transmission in public spaces and other private spaces and absenteeism amongst workers due to infections, isolations if infected, especially during the height of infections.”
Provincial Health Department spokesperson Marika Champion said the department was preparing to drop off the J&J boosters as of today at selected sites, with the list of sites to be made available today.