South Africa's regulatory authority has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as a booster shot, opening the way for third doses to be administered to battle the current surge driven by the Omicron variant, reports AP.

South Africa's new Covid-19 cases continue to rise. In the last 24 hours, South Africa recorded 22,391 new cases, up from about 200 per day in early November. More than 90 per cent of the new cases are Omicron, according to genetic sequencing surveys.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority approved the Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot for people 18 years and older, six months after they received their second dose.

The regulatory body also approved a third dose for people aged 12 years and older who were severely immunocompromised, which may be taken 28 days after their second dose.