CAPE TOWN – South Africa will begin vaccinating children aged 12 to 17 with the Pfizer vaccine next week, the health minister said on Friday, as the country tries to speed up vaccinations ahead of final exams.
In August, hundreds of South Africans formed long queues to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as the government made vaccines available to all adults in a bid to meet the goal of vaccinate 70% of the adult population by December.
“This service will begin on October 20 to allow for the necessary preparations for the Electronic Immunization Record System (EVDS) and other logistical preparations,” Health minister Joe Phaahla said.
Last month, South African health authorities approved Pfizer’s vaccine for use in children aged 12 and over, as the hardest-hit country on the continent in terms of deaths and overall infections emerges from its third wave of the pandemic.
But Phaahla said the government, on the advice of its vaccine advisory committee, would only give teenagers one shot of Pfizer’s normal two-shot regimen, fearing it could affect the heart.
“The timing of the second dose will be informed by more information about this rarely seen side effect, which poses no permanent risk,” Phaahla said of the transient myocarditis cases.
He added that the government was considering giving a booster shot to high-risk healthcare workers who received the first doses of the J&J vaccine almost eight months ago.
The country’s Medical Research Council has asked the health authority to consider approving a J&J booster shot because of its potential to boost immunity in health workers.
“We will await the results of this application,” Phaahla said.
