Should I take another Covid-19 vaccine booster?
Singapore recently announced that it is moving to a new Covid-19 innoculation strategy, with the focus on an individual’s vaccination being up-to-date, similar to how influenza jabs are administered seasonally.
This comes as the country is in the midst of another wave of coronavirus infections, spurred by the emergence of the Omicron XBB subvariant.
With most people having received their primary vaccination series, as well as at least one booster, should you consider taking another booster shot? The Straits Times asks the experts.
Q: Who is eligible for a second or third booster shot?
Those aged 50 and above, as well as those who are medically vulnerable, can walk into any joint vaccination and testing centre to receive an additional booster dose of an mRNA vaccine between five months and one year from their last dose.
They must have already achieved minimum protection, defined as at least three doses of an mRNA vaccine such as those from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, or four Sinovac-CoronaVac doses.
They should get the bivalent version of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine, which has replaced the original formulation of the vaccine here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) recommended.
Q: I am below 50 and have already received three doses of an mRNA vaccine. Should I take an additional booster when it becomes available for my age group?
Yes, said Prof Teo. “As and when the additional boosters can be extended to adults under 50, they are highly recommended to come forward to take the boosters.”
MOH has said it will consider extending the recommendation for additional boosters to other age groups at a later date.
Q: What is a bivalent vaccine and will it protect me from the XBB subvariant?
Described by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung as a “two-in-one” formulation of the original vaccine, the bivalent vaccine is an updated one that targets the Omicron variant in addition to the original Sars-CoV-2 strain.
Said Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health: “This means there will be some additional protection against Omicron subvariants, including XBB, compared to the previous vaccines that Singapore has been administering.”
The Moderna bivalent vaccine was approved by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in September and rolled out on Oct 14.
Pfizer’s bivalent vaccine is being evaluated but is expected to be available here by year end.
Q: I have already had four doses of an mRNA vaccine, and had recently recovered from Covid-19. Should I take a booster dose, or can I afford to wait?
Covid-19 infection is not considered a booster dose, MOH said on its website.
It added that people who have recovered from Covid-19 and completed the recommended primary vaccination series are recommended to receive a booster dose, which should be administered either five months after the most recent dose of a vaccine or three months after infection, whichever is later.
Q: Can I take a non-mRNA vaccine, such as Sinovac or Novavax, as a booster?
While the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine was earlier available as a booster for only those medically ineligible to receive the mRNA and Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccines, those who have yet to receive a booster dose can be given the Sinovac vaccine as a booster, even if they are not medically ineligible for other vaccines.
They are, however, recommended to consider taking either the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech or the Novavax vaccine as a booster due to the better protection conferred.
The Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccine remains available at the joint testing and vaccination centre in Bishan, as well as the Yishun and Jurong polyclinics.
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