Over 386,000 have received bivalent Covid-19 vaccine since mid-October

More than 386,000 people in the Republic have received a shot of a bivalent Covid-19 vaccine since they were introduced in mid-October, the Ministry of Health said.

This comes as the bivalent version of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccine was made available on Monday for those aged 12 and above.

Previously, only Moderna’s bivalent vaccine was available after it was rolled out on Oct 14.

Bivalent vaccines provide protection against the original Sars-CoV-2 strain of the virus, as well as the Omicron variants.

The introduction of another vaccine type may encourage more people to come forward to get their boosters, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told reporters on Monday.

He noted that about 70 deaths or intensive care cases per 10,000 infections occur among those aged 70 and above with no minimum protection.

This is compared to the general population, where about five in every 10,000 infections end up in the intensive care unit or die.

The emphasis is still on getting senior citizens up to date with their vaccinations, Mr Ong said.

MOH said on Dec 7 that about nine in 10 seniors aged 60 and above have minimum protection, and six in 10 are up to date with their Covid-19 vaccinations.

However, there are still about 40,000 eligible seniors who have not yet achieved minimum protection against Covid-19. 

The pandemic situation here is “calm and stable”, with low case numbers and a lower number of patients at hospitals following the XBB wave, Mr Ong said.

As at noon on Sunday, the seven-day moving average of new local cases stood at 1,031.

There were 101 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, of whom 11 required oxygen supplementation while six were in intensive care.

However, question marks remain over the arrival of winter in the Northern Hemisphere – when diseases, including Covid-19, tend to spread – as well as China’s recent announcement of the easing of its pandemic restrictions.

But there are “bound to be mutations” should the coronavirus spread among China’s mostly uninfected population, Mr Ong said.

Mr Ong was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to the mobile vaccination team at the Hong Kah North Community Club.

Monday marked the redeployment of such mobile vaccination teams to heartland areas, to make it more convenient for seniors to get their vaccines.

MOH had earlier said these teams will be deployed to eight locations – including community centres and clubs in Choa Chu Kang, Kampong Chai Chee and Toa Payoh Central – between Monday and Jan 12.

These will be deployed at each site for three days before moving on to the next location, with the deployment schedule available at https://gowhere.gov.sg.

With things almost back to normal, many people may feel no rush to get another shot of the vaccine, said Mr Ong.

As such, efforts such as the mobile vaccination teams help bring the vaccinations closer to residents. “It’s very convenient. On the way to the coffee shop or the market, you can just drop by and get your jab”, he added.

Mr Tan Kok Ping, operations director for Pancare Medical Clinic, which operates the site at Hong Kah North Community Club on Monday, said it can vaccinate up to 250 people per day.

Among those getting their jabs on Monday morning was 53-year-old Ms Napsiah Ali Mohd, who got a shot of the Moderna bivalent vaccine.

The food and beverage supervisor, whose entire family caught Covid-19 in May, said she came forward to get her second booster as she wanted to get protection against reinfection.

This is especially since she plans to travel in the coming year, the Bukit Batok resident said.

Around 65 per cent of Singapore’s eligible population is up to date with their Covid-19 vaccinations as at Dec 10.