South Africans urge jabs as president ill in omicron wave

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office says that he has postponed getting a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine because he has tested positive for the disease and is recuperating from mild symptoms. The statement issued Monday said that Ramaphosa is receiving medical treatment for his symptoms and is self-isolating in Cape Town. South Africa’s regulatory authority last week approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to be used as a booster shot, opening the way for third doses to be administered to adults in order to battle the current surge driven by the omicron variant.