Those aged 18-49 to be offered bivalent booster later in 2022: Ong Ye Kung

This article is more than 12 months old

Oct 20, 2022 03:34 pm

The bivalent Covid-19 vaccination boosters which are currently available to those aged 50 and above will be offered to those aged between 18 and 49 later this year, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Ong said this will come as Singapore secures more supplies.

Those above 50 were initially prioritised for the bivalent vaccine due to their higher risk of severe disease from infection, he added.

The bivalent version of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine, which targets the original Sars-CoV-2 strain of the virus as well as the Omicron variants, was rolled out here on Oct 14.

Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Comirnaty vaccine is expected to be available by the end of this year.

The Health Minister was responding to a question by Associate Professor Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC), who had asked regarding the timeline for the rollout of the bivalent vaccine for those under 50 here.

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“Bivalent vaccines provide better protection against newer Covid-19 variants compared to the original vaccines,” Mr Ong said, adding those who are eligible are recommended to take the newer vaccine.

This includes those who have recently recovered from a Covid-19 infection, Mr Ong said, adding it is recommended for them to get the bivalent vaccine three months after the infection.

Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) had asked whether vaccination centres at community clubs and community centres in areas with higher numbers of older residents would be reopened, so as to facilitate vaccinations.

In response, Mr Ong noted there are currently 10 joint testing and vaccination centres as well as one vaccination centre for adults who wish to get a vaccine shot.

This is in addition to 221 participating Public Health Preparedness Clinics and 20 polyclinics, he said, noting these together provide sufficient convenience and access to vaccinations.

Vaccination centres and joint testing and vaccination centres are chosen based on factors such as their proximity to high population density areas, accessibility, as well as the availability of the venue to support vaccination operations over a sustained period of time, Mr Ong said.