According to the SA National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the body's immune system takes up to 14 days to develop strong immune responses after the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The ministerial advisory committee said healthcare workers who regularly come into contact with potentially infected patients must “ensure their personal protective equipment (PPE) is satisfactory to avoid the need for quarantine”.
Dr Susan Louw, a haematopathologist at SA’s National Health Laboratory Service, told the Sunday Times for two to three weeks after getting the vaccine, you are not any more protected than someone who has not got the jab yet.
“It takes about two to three weeks for your body to get the army of antibodies ready to fight Covid-19,” she said.