The elders and staff living at a North Beach Eden Roc Retirement Home got their booster shots on 13 January. This after most of the residents were given both their Pfizer jabs last year in May and July.
The booster roll-out began last December, as regulated by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) who approved the use of Pfizer vaccine as a booster of the primary Pfizer vaccine two-dose series some time ago. According to SAHPRA, people who were vaccinated six months or more ago are now eligible for the booster shot. Dr Dyason, one of the residents who co-ordinated the vaccinations last year, said that they had since May been battling with having the first vaccination captured on the Department of Health’s database. However, she said that she was glad that the Department of Health has given them the opportunity to have the booster shots. “Since May, our first vaccination date has not been captured on the system. Most of us were eligible to have the booster vaccination in January, however, the Department of Health could not back-date their system to May 2021. Therefore, our first vaccination now reads July 2021 and our second vaccination reads December 2021. “Some were unable to have the booster vaccination administered, due to the fact that the Department of Health’s records show that some of the residents will not be eligible to have the booster until June 2022,” said Dr Dyason. She said residents who had contracted the virus recently were also told to wait at least a month before getting the booster shot. “We really appreciate that we are having our boosters and that we will be protected. We trust at a later stage that our booster vaccination will be captured by the Department. At present, after having their booster shots, the records at the Department of Health indicate two and not three vaccinations,” said Dr Dyason. Dr Dyason said the residents were happy to get their boosters and the turnout was very good .
