The Eswatini government has added the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccines to be taken as a booster dose, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.
According to the ministry, the decision to include AstraZeneca “follows the completion of standard health research that has established that the vaccine can be safely and effectively used as a booster dose.”
“This means that, in Eswatini, all three currently available approved vaccines, AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson as well as Pfizer can now be administered as booster doses,” it said in a statement.
Those who initially received the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines can receive the booster shot at least six months after completing primary COVID-19 vaccination series.
“For the elderly the booster may be given at three months after completing your primary COVID-19 vaccination series.”
COVID-19 vaccination is open to anyone above 12 years living in Eswatini.
Eswatini has so far administered over 463,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses since the vaccination programme started last year, according to latest figures from the ministry.
Of these, more than 330,000 have been fully vaccinated, accounting for more than 28 percent of the eligible population.
JN/APA