SINGAPORE - All eligible individuals aged 30 and above can walk in to a Moderna vaccination centre for their booster dose from Monday (Nov 1), said the Ministry of Health (MOH) in a statement on Saturday.
This applies to Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term visit pass holders aged 30 and above who took the first two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty or Moderna mRNA vaccines at least six months ago, said the ministry.
Currently, seniors aged 60 years and above may already walk in to any vaccination site without appointment to receive their booster dose.
MOH said there is now sufficient capacity at the Moderna vaccination centres to accommodate walk-ins, allowing it to accelerate the booster programme.
It also said that from Sunday, individuals can make appointments to receive the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine at the Raffles City Convention Centre, while seniors aged 60 years and above can walk in.
Citing an MOH study which found that booster doses afforded significant protection — around a further 70 per cent risk reduction against Covid-19 infection and 90 per cent risk reduction against severe infection — it said it wants to make it more convenient for individuals to get their booster dose more quickly.
The vaccination centres offering the Moderna booster shots are the community clubs at Buona Vista, Hong Kah North, Kebun Baru, Potong Pasir, Punggol 21, Radin Mas, Tampines East, Woodlands and Yew Tee.
Booster vaccination of all dormitory dwelling migrant workers and non-dormitory dwelling migrant workers who are work-permit holders in the construction, marine, processing sector will be scheduled by the Ministry of Manpower, said MOH.
With regard to the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, MOH said that those who have yet to take a dose of any Covid-19 vaccine and wish to take the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine may register their interest at this website from Saturday (Oct 30).
Once registered, an SMS with a personalised booking link will be sent to the mobile number used to register interest, and individuals may use the link to make an appointment at the vaccination centre at Raffles City Convention Centre or at any of the 11 Public Health Preparedness Clinics offering Sinovac-CoronaVac.
Individuals who took at least one dose of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine at a Special Access Route (SAR)-authorised private clinic previously can continue to take the remaining doses of their three-dose regime at any of the authorised private clinics.
They may proceed to book their remaining appointments at these clinics from Monday, if they have not already done so, said MOH.
Those who were medically ineligible for a two-dose mRNA vaccine regime and previously invited to receive the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine under a special public health programme, should follow the instructions provided in their SMS invitation to continue with their regime, said MOH.
Seniors aged 60 years and above who belong to any of the above groups may also walk in to the vaccination centre at Raffles City Convention Centre to receive their Sinovac-CoronaVac doses from Sunday.
MOH added that as at Thursday, among those invited to take boosters, 80.2 per cent of those aged 60 years and above, 92.7 per cent of those aged 50 to 59 years, and 75.1 per cent of those aged 30 to 49 years have received their booster dose or booked an appointment.
The ministry said it had studied 685,083 fully vaccinated seniors above the age of 60 who were eligible for the booster doses, looking at the Covid-19 positive infection rates of individuals who had received the boosters versus fully vaccinated individuals who had not received the boosters.
The study looked to see if they were infected, and if so, how severe the infection was. The tracking was conducted between Sept 15 to Oct 22, said MOH.
After adjusting for age, gender and other differences, the study found that booster doses conferred around a further 70 per cent risk reduction against Covid-19 infections, and 90 per cent risk reduction against severe infections, as compared to those who had received only two doses to date at around the same period as those who had received their boosters.
"Hence, there is significant protection accorded by boosters, on top of the protection that two doses of mRNA vaccines already provide against Covid-19 - that is, on top of the vaccine effectiveness of 40 to 60 per cent against infection, when comparing vaccinated versus unvaccinated individuals, and more than 90 per cent against severe illness," said MOH.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
