Health minister Edward Argar said it “would not be unreasonable” to have annual coronavirus booster jabs to protect against new strains that emerge.
He told Sky News: “What we would all expect is every year we have our flu booster jabs, or our flu jabs, it would not be unreasonable to suggest something similar here.”
The minister said the virus “will always try to outwit us”, adding: “We’ve just got to make sure we get ahead of the game and we outwit it.”
Mr Argar has said there is “no evidence” that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is not effective at preventing severe illness from coronavirus.
He told Sky News: “There is no evidence that this vaccine is not effective in preventing hospitalisation, severe illness and death, which is ultimately what we’re seeking with these vaccines.”
The minister noted that the “dominant strains in this country are not the South African strain”, with “only a small number of cases of that”.
He added that South Africa’s suspension of the rollout of the vaccine is only “temporary” at this stage.
