The Health Department has experienced yet another system glitch, delaying the rollout of booster vaccination shots for healthcare workers.
Around 500 000 healthcare workers that took the initial Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be offered a booster shot against COVID-19.
Co-lead investigator in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine trial, Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, says the booster shot which is part of the Sisonke trial is set to begin on Wednesday at designated sites.
Bekker says, “Yesterday, we did the beta testing to ensure that healthcare workers would be able to sign up for e-consent. There was a minor glitch that we were not expecting, that has now been fixed. The SMS’s inviting Sisonke participants to sign up for the boost will start going out from this evening. Once people have signed the e-consent and received their vouchers, they will be able to go to designated sites with their IDs and receive their boost.”
Chief Director for Child Health Programme and COVID-19 Team Leader, Dr Lesley Bamford, says evidence from clinical trials shows that there is some waning of the immunity that is provided by the vaccines.
Below is the full interview with Dr Bramford:
In the video below, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases suggests that vaccines may have to be administered every year:
