[Updated 10 October 2022]

From 25 October 2022, children aged 6 months to 4 years are recommended by the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination (EC19V) to receive two doses of the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine, eight weeks apart, as part of their primary vaccination. The recommended dosage of the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine is two doses of 25 micrograms each.

Parents/guardians of this age group may register their interest for their child/ward to receive the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine from 18 October 2022. An SMS invitation will be sent to the mobile number indicated in the registration form within three to five working days.

All children in this age group must be accompanied by their parent/guardian on the day of vaccination. Student Identification or Health Booklet and Birth Certificate, or Passport/Singpass are required for verification at the appointment. Please refer to the Annex here for more info.

The three-dose Pfizer BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine for children in this age group should be available end of the year.

[Updated] Booster recommended for children aged 5 to 11 years

The EC19V also recommends that children aged 5 to 11 years to receive one booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine, from five months after their second dose to sustain protection against severe illnesses.

From 25 October 2022, parents/guardians of eligible children in this age group will receive a personalised booking link in an SMS notification to book an appointment for their child/ward’s Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty booster dose.

All children in this age group must be accompanied by their parent/guardian on the day of vaccination. Student Identification or Health Booklet and Birth Certificate, or Passport/Singpass are required for verification at the appointment.

[New] Designated Vaccination Centres (VCs) for Children

From 25 October 2022, there will be five VCs offering (i) Moderna/Spikevax vaccine for children aged 6 months to 4 years, and (ii) Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years at:

• One Punggol
• Our Tampines Hub
• Queenstown Community Centre
• Sembawang Community Club
• Taman Jurong Community Club

Besides the VCs, three polyclinics will support vaccinations for children aged 6 months to 4 years, and four polyclinics will support vaccinations for those aged 5 to 11 years old. More info on the designated vaccination sites can be found in the Annex here.

Mobile vaccination teams will also be deployed by Ministry of Health to provide primary series and booster vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11 years in Special Education (SPED) schools and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) funded Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) centres. Eligible children in the SPED schools and EIPIC centres may receive their vaccinations from 25 October and 28 November 2022 respectively. The SPED schools and EIPIC centres will update the parents/guardians of these children with further details.

Individuals aged 3 years and above who are not medically eligible for the Moderna/Spikevax and Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccines will be offered the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine under a dedicated public health programme. These eligible individuals will be contacted by MOH with detailed instructions. They will be closely monitored by trained medical personnel.

Vaccination shown to protect children from infection and severe disease

The incidence of COVID-19 in children has been increasing in tandem with the incidence of community cases. Although children have a low risk of severe disease, some of those infected with COVID-19 have developed life-threatening disease and severe late complications. Children also spend a significant amount of time in communal settings such as schools, where the transmission can spread quickly as they interact.

The EC19V has reviewed clinical data submitted to the Health Sciences Authority and studied information available globally pertaining to COVID-19 vaccines for use in children.

• The results of Phase 3 clinical trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty paediatric dose vaccine (at 10 micrograms, one-third of the adult dosage) in children aged 5-11 years have shown that around 90% reduction in the risk of symptomatic infection.
• As cases of COVID-19 infection in the clinical trial occurred from July to August 2021, when the Delta variant was already predominant in the US, these results reflect the vaccine’s efficacy against the Delta variant.

The common side effects in children who received the vaccine were generally mild to moderate, and children in this age group had fewer systemic side effects compared to persons 16-25 years of age.

• While there were no cases of anaphylaxis seen in the study, the risk of anaphylaxis or allergy can be expected to be comparable to that observed in adolescents and young adults
• While the rare risk of myocarditis and/or pericarditis cannot be dismissed, no cases of myocarditis/pericarditis were observed in the trial.

The EC19V thus assesses that the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks, especially in the current situation of ongoing community and global transmission.

Infographic: MOH

Recommended dosage for children aged 5-11 years

The recommended dosage for the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine is as follows:

• Two paediatric doses (10 micrograms each) timed at least 21 days apart
• This dosage is one-third of that used in persons aged 12 and above
  
  

For the latest info, please refer to MOH’s press release.