Updates on Vaccination Programme

With more people vaccinated both locally and globally, there is more evidence on the efficacy and safety of vaccine use especially in relation to various sub-groups. The Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) has revised the guidance for the following:

Commencing Vaccinations for New Groups

Enhancing Access for Seniors

Close to 73% of eligible seniors aged 60 and above have either received their vaccination or booked their appointments.

To provide greater convenience for our seniors to receive their vaccinations, all Vaccination Centres in the community will now accept walk-ins for individuals aged 60 and above. They will not be required to register or book an appointment in advance. Polyclinics will not be able to accept walk-ins due to their limited capacity.

Vaccination Plans for the Rest of the Population

Vaccination for students in schools and Institutes of Higher Learning will begin, starting from 1 June 2021. If supplies continue to arrive as scheduled, vaccination should be open to young adults aged 39 years and below in the middle of June.

As this is a large group, Singapore Citizens will be invited to register their interest and make appointments two weeks before bookings are opened to others in this age group.

Special Access Route (SAR) for Vaccines

MOH has currently authorised two vaccines – Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. There has been interest to access alternate vaccines, mostly due to medical reasons which prevent individuals from taking the two authorised vaccines. However, there have either been no applications for approval of these alternate vaccines, or evaluation is still on-going.

To provide even more flexibility, MOH will open up access to other COVID-19 vaccines under the Special Access Route (SAR) through the private healthcare sector. The SAR allows for the import and supply of unregistered medicines to address unmet medical needs, and can be used for the supply of vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be on their Emergency Use Listing (EUL). The use of such vaccines should be according to the WHO EUL-approved indications and age groups.

Those interested in the SAR should discuss with their doctors and make an informed decision. Patients will also need to sign an informed consent form to acknowledge that they have discussed with their doctor and accept all responsibility for the risks. The Government will not subsidise vaccines administered under the SAR, and persons vaccinated under the SAR will not be eligible for the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme for COVID-19 Vaccination (VIFAP).

Contact tracing, testing and vaccination will continue to be key prongs of Singapore’s strategy to control the pandemic. Vaccination remains a key enabler in keeping our community safe and to allow us to re-open safely. Everyone is strongly encouraged to be vaccinated when it is offered to you.

For more information, click here for MOH's press release.