By Annisa Essack
23:12:2021

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAPHRA) has approved a second Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine dose. People aged 18 years and older, who received the initial single dose of the vaccine, will be eligible for the booster shot.

In a statement released on Thursday, it said: “SAPHRA reviewed the safety and efficacy data provided and has subsequently approved the Covid-19 Vaccines Janssen (J&J) second dose/booster dose…”

The health regulator has also approved the mixing and matching of vaccines.

The body added that the second J&J dose should be administered at least two months after the first dose of the J&J vaccine.

Citizens who received the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine may also be eligible to receive a third dose of J&J’s vaccine. This is known as heterologous boosting.

SAPHRA indicates that the dosing interval for the heterologous (J&J) booster dose will be six months after the second Pfizer shot. The decision did not include the approval of a Pfizer booster shot after a single dose of the J&J vaccine.