More than half of P4 to P6 pupils have booked slots for Covid-19 vaccine: Chan Chun Sing

This article is more than 12 months old

Shermaine Ang

Dec 29, 2021 10:18 am

More than half of Primary 4 to 6 pupils have booked their Covid-19 vaccination appointments since the slots opened up last week. Of these, several thousands have already received their first dose in the past two days.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Dec 29), Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said: "I understand that many parents are hoping to secure the Friday to Sunday slots. I would encourage parents to consider booking an appointment on Mondays to Thursdays as well, so that you can register as early as possible."

"Rest assured that your child will be deemed to be on medical leave if they get vaccinated during school hours, or feel unwell from the vaccination. Our schools will make the necessary arrangements to help them catch up on their schoolwork if needed."

Mr Chan said more than 5,000 registrations have been made on the national appointment system, since it was opened to nine- to 11-year-olds who are not in Ministry of Education (MOE) schools on Sunday.

Parents of Primary 4 to 6 pupils in MOE primary schools and madrasahs began receiving SMS invitations to book a vaccination appointment last Wednesday.

He added that slots will soon be opened for Primary 1 to 3 pupils from Jan 5, and for all children aged five to eight from Jan 6.

Mask wearing is still “strongly encouraged” for medically vulnerable people such as seniors and those with acute respiratory infection.

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The extension of the national vaccination programme to children aged five and above will cover about 300,000 children, who make up the largest unvaccinated group in Singapore.

The paediatric dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine - the only brand currently approved for children aged five to 11 in Singapore - is 0.2 millilitres, compared with 0.3 millilitres for adults.

"Let us get our children vaccinated if they are medically eligible. This will keep our children and community safe," Mr Chan said.

Seven paediatric vaccination centres have opened, with another eight set to start operations in January.

The centres now operating are Senja-Cashew Community Club, Nanyang Community Club in Boon Lay, Our Tampines Hub, Pasir Ris Elias Community Club, Woodlands Galaxy Community Club, Nee Soon East Community Club and Hougang Community Club.

Children aged 12 and above can walk in accompanied by a parent or guardian to any of the 22 vaccination centres offering the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine without a prior appointment.