Booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines amid Omicron fears will be administered six months after the initial mandatory vaccination under the countrywide immunization drive against the viral infection, announced NCOC.
In an official statement, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said that booster shots will be given to three high-risk categories initially that include frontline healthcare workers, immunocompromised individuals, and citizens aged above 50 years.
On 1 December, the NCOC started administering booster doses of Coronavirus vaccines to shore up protection against the Omicron variant that has spread to over 30 countries.
The NCOC also revealed that it had established 40 call centers across the country to contact unvaccinated and partially vaccinated citizens to encourage them to get fully vaccinated against the Coronavirus at the earliest as they are more vulnerable to the viral infection.
On 24 November, South Africa’s Network for Genomic Surveillance (NGS) announced that it had detected a new strain of COVID-19 having more than 50 mutations, with 30 of them being on the spike protein, the part of the virus that attaches to the cells to spread in the body and that all COVID-19 vaccines target to neutralize the virus.
A couple of days later, the World Health Organization (WHO) named the variant “Omicron” and categorized it as a “variant of concern.” Since 24 November, more than 30 countries have either completely suspended the entry of foreigners or banned the entry of travelers from South Africa and its bordering states.
