Immunocompromised children aged from five to 11 would be eligible for two doses of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine from February 2023, Health Minister Joe Phaahla has announced.
The category would include children with chronic respiratory, heart, neurological, kidney, liver and gastrointestinal conditions as well as those with certain endocrine disorders, conditions associated with immunosuppression and serious genetic abnormalities.
The two doses would be administered 21 days apart, reports News24.
While only 38m South Africans have received the COVID jab, Phaahla said there was a demand for booster vaccine doses for vulnerable people, including the elderly, but the department was still deciding whether to increase the vaccine intake.
Adults aged 18 to 49 are eligible for three doses, while those 50 and older are eligible for four.
“There is little experience of ideal booster six intervals, and there is a high level of immunity in the community. At this stage, the intention is to provide another booster at an interval between the previous and the additional booster dose of a minimum of 180 days or six months,” he said.
“Although this next one would be a voluntary dose, the department reminds South Africans the lifting of restrictions didn’t imply that the pandemic is over.”
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