South Africa approves Pfizer vaccine booster amid COVID wave

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s regulatory authority has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as a booster shot, opening the way for third doses to be administered to battle the current surge driven by the omicron variant. South Africa’s new COVID-19 cases continue to rise. In the last 24 hours, South Africa recorded 22,391 new cases, up from about 200 per day in early November. More than 90% of the new cases are omicron, according to genetic sequencing surveys. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has approved the Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot for people 18 years and older, six months after they received their second dose.