Updated Covid-19 vaccines available from Oct 28; 5 joint vaccination centres to close from Dec 1: MOH

The updated vaccines provide a stronger immune response against current and emerging strains of Covid-19. PHOTO: ST FILE
Ian Cheng
Correspondent
Updated
 
Oct 25, 2024, 08:32 PM
Published
 
Oct 25, 2024, 03:56 PM

SINGAPORE – Two updated Covid-19 vaccines will be rolled out from Oct 28 at almost 500 clinics and 10 polyclinics, with the five remaining Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres (JTVCs) to close from Dec 1.

The updated vaccines “provide a stronger immune response against current and emerging strains compared with previous versions of the vaccines, and therefore confer better protection against Covid-19”, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in an Oct 25 statement. It added that the safety profiles of the jabs are comparable with that of previous versions.

The roll-out of the vaccines was based on the recommendation of the Expert Committee for Immunisation (ECI), which advises on nationally recommended immunisations for children and adults.

“The vaccination is especially applicable to individuals at increased risk of severe Covid-19,” said the ministry.

Those at higher risk of getting severe Covid-19 disease are:

  • Aged 60 years or above;
  • Medically vulnerable individuals aged six months or older; and
  • Residents of aged care facilities.

These groups of people should receive both the initial dose – if they are not vaccinated – and additional doses of the vaccine, as they will benefit most from increased protection with vaccination, said MOH.

Healthcare workers and those living or working with medically vulnerable people should consider receiving the vaccine.

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Those who are unvaccinated should receive two doses, eight weeks apart, if they are between six months old and four years old.

Unvaccinated people who are five years or older should receive one dose, reduced from two doses previously, as most people here would have some level of protection from past infection, said the ministry.

Vaccinated people who are aged six months or older should receive an additional dose about a year from their last jab.

The vaccine is free for all those who are eligible under the National Vaccination Programme.

Singapore is the first South-east Asian country to fully approve the use of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – one of the two to be rolled out – for those who are at least six months old, said the two companies in a joint statement.

Closure of Joint Testing and Vaccination Centres

With hundreds of clinics now offering Covid-19 vaccinations, along with the polyclinics, MOH said that the five JTVCs in Bukit Merah, Jurong East, Kaki Bukit, Sengkang and Woodlands will cease operations from Dec 1.

The five JTVCs in Bukit Merah (above), Jurong East, Kaki Bukit, Sengkang and Woodlands will cease operations from Dec 1. PHOTO: ST FILE

Those who still wish to receive their jabs at these locations may walk in by Nov 30, or visit https://vaccine.gov.sg/covid to book an appointment.

Mobile vaccination teams will still be deployed across the island, with the schedule available at https://gowhere.gov.sg/vaccine.

To book an appointment for a Covid-19 jab at a clinic, go to https://vaccine.gov.sg/covid or the HealthHub app for appointments at polyclinics.

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