CHILDREN AGED 12 TO 17 CAN NOW GET SECOND PFIZER JAB

Children Aged 12 To 17 Can Now Get Second Pfizer Jab

The national Department of Health has announced that children between the ages of 12 and 17 are now eligible to receive their second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

A statement from the department said that it “has opened the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) for the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine for the 12 to 17 age group on Thursday”.

Those who already qualify for their second vaccination have received their SMS messages already.

This age group was initially identified to only need one of the recommended two Pfizer shots, but with the new omicron variant that was recently identified by South African scientists, a second shot has been approved.

Research has shown that omicron makes children aged 17 and younger more vulnerable than other variants.

RHI Doctor Gloria Maimela, the technical director of health programmes at Wits, welcomed the move by the department.

“As South Africa strives towards reaching the targeted 70% herd immunity through increased COVID-19 vaccination coverage, we welcome the news of children aged 12 to 17 years being included in the vaccination programme and given two doses.”

Image credit: Reuters