Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 can book their jabs from today
Singaporeans aged 12 to 39 can book their vaccination appointments from today, as the national inoculation programme gets extended.
Citizens will have a two-week priority window to book their appointments, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday.
"This is a big group of about 1.5 million people who have yet to be vaccinated, so citizens aged 12 to 39... will get a two-week priority window to book your vaccination," he said.
In his national address on May 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced that vaccination for those aged 39 and below will commence from the middle of this month.
The decision was made after Singapore received further confirmation of faster vaccine deliveries over the next two months and thus can further boost its inoculation programme.
Those aged 39 and younger are the last remaining group to be vaccinated, PM Lee had said, after the roll-out was extended to students earlier this month.
Mr Ong said yesterday that Singapore's vaccination exercise was progressing well, with more than 4.4 million doses administered as at Wednesday.
More than 2.5 million people have had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. That means about 44 per cent of the population have received at least their first jab, he said.
Mr Ong also gave an update on the effect of vaccination should someone contract Covid-19. Of the local infections since April 11, 9 per cent of those who were unvaccinated developed serious disease, he said. This meant they needed supplementary oxygen or had to be put in the intensive care unit.
Among those who had been fully vaccinated, only one case required supplemental oxygen, and the patient was already ill before getting infected. So far, 131 people who were fully vaccinated have been infected.
"In other words, 9 per cent versus less than 1 per cent, in fact, less than 0.8 per cent," said Mr Ong.
EARLIER SLOT
He added that because younger students can take only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, those who go to a centre that offers the Moderna vaccine are more likely to get an earlier slot. Locations of centres and the type of vaccine administered can be found at vaccine.gov.sg
MOH said those in the eligible age group of 12 to 39 can register online at the website. Children who turn 12 this year must have crossed their birthday before they are eligible.
After registration, people will be invited to book their appointments through an SMS with a booking link sent to the mobile number they have registered with. The SMS may take up to two weeks. Those who registered their interest earlier at vaccine.gov.sg need not re-register.
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